Chronicles of Uzumaki Naruto: The Elemental Sage
by myffemailid
Summary: After a post-apocalyptic event featuring the Otsutsuki clan, Naruto with the help of the Shinigami travels to the past to rectify the mistakes of many and unify the elemental nations for a better future. Features a strong Naruto who is mature but still the fun-loving blonde we all know. Will Naruto be able to overcome the cycle of hatred to bring peace? Read on to find out!
1. Prologue

**Disclaimer:**

**I do not own Naruto. Naruto is owned by Masashi Kishimoto and related associates. I do not make any money from this fanfiction. I am only playing around the sandbox to create a fanfiction. In no shape or form do I claim any right over the characters in this fanfiction other than the characters that were created from my imagination. All praise goes to the respective creators for these series and anime for giving us this wonderful story world to enjoy.**

**Prologue:**

Wars change people. The 4th great war had tempered Naruto's exuberant character without compromising his upbeat attitude. After the 4th great war, Naruto had known that it wasn't enough to just spam Rasengan, sage mode, Kyubi mode or any of them combined. Naruto had stepped up his game and used shadow clones over a period of 15 years to completely master all five of the elements and a multitude of Jutsu in each element. This was possible because of his sage of six path mode. Naruto was pleasantly surprised when he came to realize that his sage of six paths mode had stayed with him since he was a sage himself and contained parts of chakra from all the tailed beasts.

The sage of six paths mode unlike his sage mode was fused with his chakra giving him a very dense chakra signature comparable to that of the tailed beasts. Additionally, he had trained intensively with Lee under the tutelage of Guy sensei to improve his taijutsu. His own chakra was on par with the Nanabi. This coupled with his Uzumaki vitality and the strength of Kurama's chakra made him ageless. However, though he was immune to genjutsu, he still couldn't cast one to save his life which he found funny.

Naruto was also a seal master that could rival any of the big names in the past and had modified his dad's Hiraishin no Jutsu to include dimensional travel in addition to space-time formula. If he had the frequency of a dimension, he could use his modified Hiraishin no Jutsu to travel there. So far, he had Kaguya's five dimensions along with Obito's Kamui dimension. Since Obito had passed away and Kakashi sensei no longer had his Sharingan, this along with the other five dimensions became his own. He had modified many of the existing seals after thorough study of them with the help of shadow clones.

Naruto found out that could still be hurt like any other shinobi; however, his regeneration factor was so ridiculously high that his cells had stopped aging and healed even the most severe of his wounds with nonchalant ease. During his early days as Hokage though he was pushing late 30s he didn't look a day over 20. Many had chalked this up to the famed Uzumaki vitality. During later years, he, however, had to put up the special henge that was unique to him so that people wouldn't freak out.

It was a major shock to Naruto when Hinata was assassinated by unknown assailants when she had gone for a mission. She could have escaped if she were to abandon her team, but Hinata being the soft-hearted gentle soul that she was stayed back to buy enough time for her team to escape. She did so because her team had consisted of fresh genin and few new chunin who were having their first C rank mission. The assassins took advantage of the mission to kill Hinata. Hinata had however put up a valiant fight and took out all seven of her attackers, but they had a failsafe seal on their bodies that sealed and burnt everything nearby. Unfortunately, Hinata was caught up in the range of the Jutsu and was killed.

Naruto was never the same after that day. The love of his life was taken away from him. Only Hinata knew the full extent of his powers and his special condition. He had always known that the shinobi way of life was always dangerous. That was why he took much effort in assigning missions so that his shinobi had a greater probability to survive. If he could have taken over all missions, he would have but he knew that it was necessary for his shinobi to take on missions irrespective of dangers for the sake of their village. After his beloved's death, he took much more care to balance his work and personal life. This led to bridging the gap that had formed between him and Boruto.

Another change was that Kurama now considered Naruto as a mix between a brother and a best friend. Naruto had opened the seal fully and as a result, Kurama could also feel, see and interact the same way as Naruto. In effect, they became one body housing two coexisting souls. It has been many years since he handed over the Hokage position to his student turned rival Konohamaru. Naruto had handed over the hat after the death of Hinata. He had then decided to join the AnBu corps under Sasuke who was the AnBu commander. This proved beneficial as he had undertaken many missions that were suicide for anyone apart from him or Sasuke which led to gaining invaluable intel which proved beneficial for the elemental nations in the long run.

Unlike the first 30 years after the 4th great ninja war, the later period was not peaceful. Though the villages had mostly stopped aggression towards each other, the Otsutsuki clan from outer space kept up their attack on the elemental nations to steal chakra. Just over a year ago many Otsutsuki members started the 5th great war to gather all chakra. Naruto and his remaining friends of the Konoha 12 fought valiantly. Naruto was the spearhead of their heavy assault team consisting of all current Kage combined with the best of the best from each village.

Once again Naruto had shown that he was the most unpredictable ninja when he showed that he was not complacent during the peacetime. Naruto was on a level of his own and was able to counter the Otsutsuki clan members effectively through his versatile ninjutsu and strong taijutsu. He had shared his Biju cloak with the allied forces that prevented as many deaths as possible. In spite of his best efforts, the death toll was still high. The battle came to a head when a new wave of support came to the aid of the few Otsutsuki members who were fighting the combined forces of the elemental nation. Though their numbers were not comparable to the shinobi forces, their strength made it so that only a Kage level shinobi could effectively fight them.

Seeing the hopelessness of the situation, Naruto asked Ino to share his mind with the joint shinobi forces. He then shared his plan to seal the entirety of the attacking forces through the reaper death seal. His children and friends raised their voice against the plan since it meant that Naruto would die. Naruto, however, gave them his famous carefree smile and shared his feelings and memories of the 4th war where he comes to realize that being a shinobi is to endure and he would die a thousand deaths before he would let his comrades die if could prevent it. Just before he started his plan, Naruto tried to release the Kurama but Kurama refused, saying that no matter what he would be with Naruto. With Kurama's proclamation, Naruto gave a caring smile to Kurama and created a six-flame barrier encompassing the entire battlefield and used his chakra cloak to teleport everyone but himself outside the barrier. Naruto then created a variant of the reaper death seal which would seal anyone's soul in the Jutsu caster's barrier into the Shinigami.

When the Jutsu was completed, the entirety of the shinobi forces saw a bright flash. After the flash one by one, the enemy forces dropped to the ground dead. The final to go was Naruto whose body disintegrated into ashes much like how Obito had died. A few moments later the barrier shattered.


	2. Chapter 1: Death? I think not!

**Disclaimer:**

**I do not own Naruto. Naruto is owned by Masashi Kishimoto and associates. I do not make any money from this fictional series. I am only playing around the sandbox to create a fanfiction. In no shape or form do I claim any right over the characters in this fanfiction other than the characters that were created from my imagination. All praise goes to the respective creators for these series for giving us this wonderful story world to enjoy.**

**Chapter 1: Death? I think not!**

When he came to, Naruto had first thought that he had come to the afterlife. However, when he saw the visage of the Shinigami, he bowed low and greeted the divine entity. "Hello Shinigami Sama." Naruto intoned. Naruto though he hadn't seen the Shinigami before knew without a doubt that the being in front of him was the Shinigami. The Shinigami then focussed on Naruto who was straightening up from his bow with his hands behind his head and a smile on his face like he typically does.

The Shinigami didn't speak at first. The being seemed to look intently at Naruto as if trying to figure out what to do. Then in a strong but raspy voice asked, "Uzumaki Naruto?". Naruto once again bowed and replied in a calm voice without a care in the world. "Hai, Shinigami Sama". The reaper let out a weary sign and motioned him to sit. Once Naruto was seated the Shinigami spoke, "I have been watching over your world for a long time now. It's not too surprising considering the amount of times I have been summoned personally to deal with your problems." Naruto gave a sweat drop. He knew that what the reaper said was true. Right from his Uzumaki ancestors to most recently himself had summoned the Shinigami to take care of their dirty work.

The blank stare the Shinigami was giving Naruto was starting to creep him out. Naruto then stands up and bows low to the ground and asks forgiveness from the deity for his actions. However, during his apology he begs the Shinigami to not send the souls back and that he would be willing to do anything to help his world survive. The Shinigami gives Naruto a weary look as says, "Uzumaki Naruto, arise. I do not hold you responsible for your actions, your hand was forced in this matter."

Naruto straightens himself and gives a megawatt grin to the reaper. "Ne Ne Shinigami Sama, don't I get to move onto the pure world? I have many that I need to greet after such a long time." Naruto was very much looking forward to moving on. In truth he was not tired of life, on the contrary, if he had a chance, he would go back in a heartbeat to be with and help his nakama. However, he from experience knew better than that to try and cheat death.

"Naruto, you have always done everything humanly possible to save the world", the Shinigami said and continued "You have sacrificed much for the sake of your friends and your village but that alone doesn't make you special." Naruto gave a small smile and a nod. "True, the life of a shinobi is filled with sacrifices. Many shinobi can end life quite easily forsaking their innocence and in some cases their sanity. Sometimes they even sacrifice their own life for the sake of their comrades or a mission. However, I believe that to truly be a shinobi you must be able to endure." The Shinigami doesn't say anything immediately but looks at Naruto and says "Uchiha Itachi". Naruto's eyes soften a bit and gives the reaper a small sad smile.

"You Naruto are the prophesied one. What makes you special is your capacity to forgive and to make your enemies see reason" intoned the Shinigami. The Shinigami then shows Naruto all the bad memories of his childhood along with the losses he faced along the way. Haku, Neji, Jiraya sensei, Hinata and many more faces flashed across Naruto's mind. "As to your earlier question, the answer is no" said the reaper. Naruto was perplexed. Did he not deserve the chance to move onto the pure world? He knew he had to make tough decisions along the way especially when he had become the Hokage, but those decisions surely do not outweigh the good he brought about right?

"Do not be alarmed Uzumaki Naruto. I merely answered your question. I still haven't said why." Naruto looked even more perplexed. All this talking in riddles was giving him a headache. Sure, he was not the knucklehead he was when he was a genin but hey he still preferred straight answers when possible! The Shinigami as though sensing his thoughts gave a wheezing chuckle. "It's not often I find someone from this world who wears their emotion on their sleeves like you do. I must admit it is refreshing and breaks the monotony that I have to deal with when sending souls to the afterlife." Naruto looked sheepish after being caught red handed. He felt as if the Shinigami had heard his inner monologue. Huh? What did he know? Maybe the Shinigami could read minds. "I assure you Naruto, I can not read minds" replied the Shinigami reaffirming Naruto's earlier thoughts in his mind to which the Shinigami sweat dropped.

"It's true that I said you will not go to the pure world, however, it was not said in anger" said the Shinigami. When the Shinigami saw that he had Naruto's undivided attention, the reaper became solemn. In a very serious tone, the reaper said "Death and life is a cycle. There is no life without death, one cannot exist without the other. Even I who is a divine entity, too have a death". Naruto was unnerved. He had seen some weird things during his long life, but never did he expect to have a conversation with death personified. The Shinigami continued, "You may now ask what the pure world is however, I will not part with that information. It is a secret that is not privy to the living". Here the Shinigami gave a wry chuckle.

"Uzumaki Naruto, do you know what I feel is most funny with what mortals think?" Naruto's face scrunched up in thought and replied, "Heh he, I do not know Shinigami Sama, I haven't thought much about death as I was never afraid of death. I had come to terms with it while confronting my dark side when I was trying to gain control over Kurama's chakra" said Naruto. "I couldn't give answer to one of Yami Naruto's question which was 'If my hatred for my enemies could drive to strengthen me, why would I want to get rid my hatred?' to which I had answered that strength could also be gained by willingness to protect my precious people". The Shinigami gave Naruto a blank stare, Naruto gave a placating gesture by raising his arms and said "The kicker was what Yami Naruto then said. He asked me how I will protect my precious people if I'm dead. He tried to trick me to give into hatred by saying that he could save my life by eliminating all my enemies". Here Naruto's entire demeanour changed. He stood up straight his eyes shone, he had a look of pure confidence on his face. The Shinigami was intrigued. It looked like Naruto had a good reason to not fear death. The Shinigami leaned in to hear Naruto's answer, it was very rare to see a mortal who truly didn't fear death. Naruto then gave his patented eye smile and with hands behind his head says, "If I die then I die". The Shinigami face faulted and crashed to the ground and mumbled something about happy go lucky blonds and much too salt in Ramen.

Naruto gave a hearty chuckle and said "I can see why you would say that. Yami Naruto was an extension of myself so I didn't have to explain my entire thought process. What I meant was that I don't need to hold onto and live in hatred to protect my precious people as I am not alone, if I fall, I have my precious nakama to depend on". The Shinigami knew from the moment Naruto started speaking that his reasoning was sound for that of the mortal realm and gave an approving nod and a smile. "It is a very well thought out answer. No one man can keep guiding the masses. They too have an end even though their ideals and visions may carry on. Therefore, the older generation always takes care of their young and teaches them their ways so that their will may be carried on".

The Shinigami made up his mind based on what he had know prior about Naruto and his interactions since he woke up in the realm in between. "As I told you before you will not enter the pure world however, I have a proposition for you. I will send you back in time to when you can right so many wrongs. I am a being who is outside of the realm of time and hence this is something that is within my power. Do you want to do this?"

To say the least Naruto was shocked. Never did he imagine that something like this was possible. Of course, there was the one time he was able to travel in past to the time his dad had led a team of AnBu, but he thought that it was a one-off occurrence. He intoned with the utmost respect to not offend the Shinigami, "Shinigami Sama, I am grateful that you deem me worthy for such an honor to correct the mistakes of the past. However, will this not bring back the dead? Is this not a taboo? Err, especially since you are sort of in charge of the dead?" Towards the end of his small speech Naruto was sheepish and rubbed the back of his head when he spoke about the duties of the Shinigami. The Shinigami continued his blank stare and replied "Once again you show much decorum. Many would have jumped at the chance of rectifying their past mistakes if only for making their own lives better. It warms my heart that not once did you think for your own gains." Naruto gains a tick mark on his forehead and says, "I thought you said you couldn't read minds!" The Shinigami gave a mirthful chuckle and says "Consider it as a test of sorts. Afterall this is an offer I have never made to any other".

The Shinigami then continues to say "As for your previous question, I do not care for dead people. My job is to guide the souls that are ready to pass on, this affords me the power to rip souls from their mortal coil should the necessity arise for it. The only exception I allowed myself to directly involve in mortal affairs is to be summoned to the mortal realm. However, there were safeguards in place to ensure that my powers may be used only by those of pure intentions. Even then I made sure to make the cost of the jutsu so high so that mortals do not play God." Here the Shinigami proceeds to walk with Naruto falling in step close behind. The Shinigami continued "Moreover, you of all people should know that I do not care about people coming back from the dead. If I did, I wouldn't have made it possible for the Rinnegan to have an outer path. I would have also wiped Konoha out of the map for the stunt Uzumaki Nagato pulled. This doesn't mean that I fully condone such actions hence the heavy penalty for using the outer path. It is the absolute law of the mortal realm that those who are alive will have an end in death. It matters not to me if you live five minutes or a thousand years, I will always come to collect your soul when it is time."

Naruto didn't dare to stop the Shinigami during his enlightening speech. He almost couldn't comprehend what the Shinigami was talking about. But it did make sense in a way. He had initially thought that chakra made anything possible, now he knew that what ever he saw people like Nagato and Uchiha Madara do was possible only because it was allowed in the first place. The Shinigami meanwhile turned to face Naruto and said "As it is for most things, there exists an exception even in this scenario. The Edo Tensei is a perversion of the Shiki Fujin. I initially was of the opinion to enforce severe penalty for that jutsu, however, the higher powers as you would call them managed to persuade me to reconsider my decision. Thus, when anyone uses that accursed seal, a part of their soul is eaten away. If by the end of their life they haven't redeemed themselves sufficiently, their souls will be condemned to be in eternal pain without respite". Now Naruto was wondering why he was being told all of this to which the Shinigami replied "Uzumaki Naruto, what I am going to attempt with you is something that is beyond human comprehension. I want you to be on top of your game so that you do not mess this up by you actions or inaction. Do you understand? I now await your response".

Naruto had a solemn expression on his face and replied "I understand Shinigami Sama. I gratefully thank you for explaining things to me". He then took a deep breath and with as much seriousness as he could muster replied," I am ready. I wish to go back to the past and do my best to ensure that balance is maintained". The Shinigami then lowered his cowl for the first time, giving Naruto the view of a wise old man. "Uzumaki Naruto, you have now convinced me thoroughly that this action is for the best. You have seen underneath the underneath and have correctly deduced that my purpose is to maintain balance in the mortal realm. As you have suspected the acts of the Otsutsuki clan has thrown the balance of life and death out of scale. Let me show you. Come with me Uzumaki Naruto".

Naruto was standing atop his head on the hokage monument alongside the Shinigami looking over the leaf village. The day marked the 50th anniversary of the end of the 4th great ninja war and the first day after the 5th great war. Naruto looked over to the large screen on which he saw Konohamaru give a eulogy for him. He noticed that what remained of the shinobi alliance was present in Konoha paying their respects to him. Konohamaru gave a touching speech extolling his virtues. Many more people came forward to either talk about his kindness or his prowess as a shinobi. Naruto was touched by their love for him. This affirmed his belief that he need not take everything on his shoulders and that he had friends that he could depend on.

The Shinigami then places a hand on his shoulder and shows him a different scene. Naruto saw the world burn. He saw a noticeably older Konohamaru defend the front line of a war that was in progress. It didn't look good for the alliance. The 5th war had almost broken the back of the elemental nations. Replacing true Kage level shinobi is not easy. What remained of the shinobi forces were not equipped to handle the remnants of the Otsutsuki clan. He saw the total annihilation of the elemental nations. The Otsutsuki clan didn't fare much better. With the death of many shinobi and dispersal of the tailed beasts, for the lack of better word to reform themselves, there was not enough chakra to go among them. Soon they fought amongst each other for the last remnants of chakra and slowly perished. Naruto by the end of the vision had tears in his eyes. All that he had known was destroyed. He now more than ever wanted to prevent this outcome. The Shinigami noticing his distress takes them back to the realm in-between.

After giving Naruto a moment to collect himself, the Shinigami asks, "Are you ready to begin your journey Uzumaki Naruto?" to which Naruto replies "Hai, Shinigami Sama". Naruto had a look of intense determination on his face, the Shinigami could feel the power of Naruto's unwavering will. "Very well" said the Shinigami. "By the time this conversation is over, you will wake up in the past. However, before you leave there are a few last-minute instructions that I need to give you. Are you ready for them?" Naruto simply nodded.

"Firstly, I will not impose any commandments on you. The free will of the mortals is Kami Sama's gift and I shall not infringe upon it. Hence, what ever decision you make will solely belong to you. Be warned, you are being sent to the past, all your actions will have consequences. It is up to you to make sure that they are favourable. I know that you have prior knowledge of the past due to your many research escapades throughout your self-imposed training period, make sure you utilise it to your advantage.

Secondly, as you have correctly deduced in your previous life, you are an ageless being. You will mature till your prime and then shall age no more. However, as you have found out it is possible for even you to die so don't get cocky. Use your special henge to blend in so that your age doesn't stand out. Next, you cannot have the same identical person to exist in the same timestream. Thus, when you are in the past, your soul, essence and chakra will be housed in a new body. Specifically, the body of a three-year-old kid who passed away during one of the skirmishes. Do not worry about your backstory for it is all legitimate. All you need to do is find it out based on your surroundings and family tree which will be available to you. Your chakra and potential will grow with you as you grow up, your memories will be intact so that your techniques will always be available to you. However, you need to train your body as it grows to utilise them efficiently. To prevent the paradox I mentioned, Kurama will not be sealed into you. He still has a lot of part to play in history. However, I will personally modify your seal in such a way that the two of you can still communicate with each other irrespective of the distance between the two of you. When the time is right you may seal him into your body without any adverse effects. Kurama too will retain his memories and as we speak is currently being brought up to speed.

Finally, I will be giving you two boons, the first is that I will be sending the soul of Hyuga Hinata back with you. She will not remember what is to happen in the future until you meet up with her. Once your bond is consummated, she too will become ageless but unlike you, her life force will be tied to yours". Naruto falls to his knees when he hears about Hinata. Truth be told he knew how dauting a task he had undertaken but he refused to doubt himself for the sake of his nakama. Now that he knew Hinata would be by his side, he felt much relieved. "The second boon is that you may come here to seek my guidance when you truly need it. I am not heartless as to leave you to flounder. Be warned, do not take this boon lightly, I am not to be trifled with. You may arrive here anytime by the dimension hopping seal you have developed". Naruto beamed at the Shinigami and once again gave his thanks with a low bow. The Shinigami accepted his thanks and said "We have spoken much. It is now time for you to have your second chance. I wish you luck". Naruto slowly felt his eye becoming heavy with sleep. He uttered one last thank you and fell unconscious.

**27 years before Konoha was formed:**

Somewhere on the border of Hi no Kuni and Mizu no Kuni, a wreckage of a wealthy hamlet was smouldering. There were bodies littering the streets. The smell of blood and burnt flesh permeated the crisp morning air. In short, death was rife. In one of the wrecked building lay a beautiful red-haired woman clutching a small red headed boy protectively. It was clear that the woman was dead, at first glance so was the little red-haired boy. However, the boy slowly stirred and opened his violet eyes that brimmed with life. Uzumaki Naruto, the Elemental Sage was back, and he was here to stay.


	3. Chapter 2: Like a Phoenix He Rises

**Disclaimer:**

**I do not own Naruto. Naruto is owned by Masashi Kishimoto and associates. I do not make any money from this fictional series. I am only playing around the sandbox to create a fanfiction. In no shape or form do I claim any right over the characters in this fanfiction other than the characters that were created from my imagination. All praise goes to the respective creators for these series for giving us this wonderful story world to enjoy.**

**Chapter 2: Like a Phoenix He Rises from the Ashes!**

Naruto opened his eyes. The first thing he noticed was the stench of spilled blood. He had known that originally, the small Uzumaki boy never saw past this day. Naruto then notices that he was being held by someone, when he looked closely, he could see that the lady holding him was most likely the boy's mother. Naruto knew that the warring clans period was full of strife and hardships nevertheless, the sight of a mother, dead over her son's body did nothing but hammer this point home. Naruto then tried to pry away the hand of the mother that was holding him almost painfully in embrace. Judging by the stiffness due to rigor mortis he adjudged the time of death to be about a little more than half a day. Soon, with some effort he makes it onto his feet. Before he moved to start his new mission, Naruto tried to connect with Kurama. "Hey Kurama, you there?" He heard his lifelong friend give a rumbling growl as a response. Naruto felt relieved that Kurama too made it safely.

Naruto wanted to find Hinata first, but he had a gut feeling that their meeting would happen in due time. "Naruto, the Shinigami explained everything to me" said Kurama. Through their mental link, Naruto could feel the weariness in Kurama. He asked, "Hey Kurama are you alright? I can sense that you are very restless and in pain". "Yeah Kit, since I am a being of chakra, my older consciousness was superimposed on to my past self. It's not a joy ride I can tell you. My emotions are all over the place" said Kurama. In concern Naruto asked, "How can I help?" to which Kurama replied, "Nothing Kit, I'm in a cave near the sea on the north western part of Kumo. I do not sense anyone around me for miles. Keep the link open, I will be taking a long nap". Even as Naruto gave a mental nod, he could feel Kurama slipping into unconsciousness.

Naruto's focus came back to the world around him. He gave a weary sigh and decided to at least bury the woman who was trying to protect him even through her own death. It was not easy, his mobility, strength and chakra stamina had reduced greatly. He first had to take stock of his abilities. He tried sending chakra through his coils. To his relief, even though the kid was only three years old, his chakra network was active. Naruto found that his own spiritual energy from his timeline was completely at his disposal, however, since his physical energy was minuscule comparatively, his total chakra capacity was drastically reduced. Currently, he roughly had high chunin level chakra. He could feel the chakra in his body, it was all him. There was not a wisp of chakra from the boy. The Shinigami had done a good job with housing his essence, soul and chakra into this body. He didn't feel as if he was trapped in this body. It felt good to have two arms of his own. Even though Tsunade Baa-chan did a splendid job, deep down in his mind he knew that it was not a part of him. It was as if the body was his own. When he thought this, he gave a shake of his head and thought "It is time that I think this body as my own".

Naruto flooded his body with chakra to see how much he had. It seemed that his sage of six paths chakra and the seed chakra from all the tailed beasts had truly melded with his own chakra. It seemed that the combination of his own formidably large and potent chakra, the sage of six path's chakra and the seed chakra was stable, more so than how it was in his own timeline. Due to this, Naruto had a much denser and potent than normal chakra now. Once he focused, he realized that he could sense for at least a decent number of miles all around him. Currently, he couldn't sense anyone nearby. However, through his negative emotion sensing, he could feel the uneasiness of those who were of this era. There was a general sense of overwhelming fear and unrest. This, rather than making him uneasy, made him remember his purpose. He knew that in his second lease of life, he needed to be calm and think out his actions as he needs to correct a lot of bad decisions without generating more negative impact.

He continued with his self-assessment. He could feel that somehow, he retained his muscle memories. However, to regain his speed, reflexes and power he needed to train. He went through his mental repertoire of jutsu and was satisfied to see that he could remember all of them even if he couldn't use some of them right now. He then went over the basic chakra control exercises to look for his control. He was surprised as he easily had mid to high chunin level chakra control. He next saw if could use all of his nature transformations. He first started with wind. It was easy for him to split a piece of parchment into two. Next he concentrated on the two pieces and made one crumble into dust and the other to burn to ashes. He then took a piece of compacted clay from the floor that must have been blasted inside during the attack. He then passed his water chakra through it. The clump of clay immediately became mud. Lastly, he took another piece of parchment and channeled lightening chakra through it and watched it crinkle and slightly catch fire. He had a satisfied smile on his face as his nature transformations were strong enough to work on parchment and clay rather than chakra conductive paper. It meant that going forward, he could rely on the strength of his ninjutsu when he was fully trained to stand up against the likes of Hashirama-jiji and Madara-teme.

When he turned back to the dead woman, he was saddened once again. He augmented his strength using chakra and carried the body in a reverse fireman's lift. Because of his height or lack thereof, the lady's feet were dragging behind him. Naruto then moved the lady's body to a relatively clean place on the floor that was not touched by fire or buried in rubble. Naruto then looked around for information to identify when and where he was with respective to the timeline and his location. The house was almost destroyed. Most of the furniture was placed against the door in the hopes of delaying the attackers. It looked like it was a doomed approach as the furniture was almost in splinters. As Naruto moved onto the next room, he saw a red headed man on the floor with a beautiful but simplistic katana by his side. "Looked like he was blocking the door to the next room" deduced Naruto. When inside the next room, Naruto saw a portly looking man slumped over his cushy chair with his throat slit. The man's expensive kimono was drenched in his blood. His face had a fearful expression on it.

On the man's desk were many documents. It looked as if someone had rifled through it to look for important documents. Naruto quickly went through the documents with efficiency born from doing never ending paperwork and mission reports. After his search Naruto thought "As per these documents this is the 121st year of the warring clans' period. That means I landed roughly 27 years prior to the formation of Konoha".

From what he had learnt from Hagoromo-jiji, it was Hagoromo-jiji who had awakened chakra in humans using Banbutsu Sozo no jutsu. Utilizing his Rinnegan, the sage of six paths had forcibly opened chakra pathways so that the spiritual energy can be combined with the physical energy to create chakra. It took roughly close to a thousand years for chakra to stabilize in the elemental nations.

Naruto had also known that on top of the people whose chakra was activated, the original line of Otsutsuki Kaguya had continued. Kaguya's formidable physical energy was split equally between Otsutsuki Hagoromo and Hamura with Hamura gaining the latent potential for Shikotsumyaku. In terms of spiritual energy, Hagoromo-jiji had gained the Sharingan where as Hamura gained the Byakugan.

The sage of six paths himself sired two children, Indra and Ashura, who were the forefathers of the Uchiha and Senju clans. Even though Indra had gained his father's Sharingan, he didn't have his father's physical energy. Because of this, Indra's descendants were not strong enough to fully utilize their birth right. Indra's descendants couldn't support the Sharingan because of their reduced physical energy, this led their Sharingan to degenerate with use especially in their Mangekyou or awakened state. The only way the descendants of Indra to fully utilize the Sharingan was to merge their awakened eyes with a close kin to stop its degeneration.

Ashura was known as the forefather of the Senju clan. What was not commonly known was that Ashura was also the forefather of the Uzumaki clan. Ashura had two offspring further splitting his powers, one gained the raw physical capabilities of Ashura with excellent chakra control and the other gained Ashura's spiritual prowess. The eldest son created the Senju clan and the younger created the Uzumaki clan. The only way for the Rinne Sharingan, which had the combined power of the Sharingan and the Rinnegan, to awaken was if there were a union between the Uchiha, Senju, Uzumaki lines and the chakra of all the tailed beasts. The union of the Uchiha and the Senju will only evolve the Sharingan to the Rinnegan with the ability to use either one at a time.

Otsutsuki Hamura also had two offspring. The eldest son had gained the Byakugan and the youngest apparently hadn't gained anything. But Naruto knew different. He knew that apparently since the younger son didn't gain anything from Hamura, he adopted the name of his grandmother as his clan name and departed from the Hamura household when he was still a child. What the younger son did not know was that the Shikotsumyaku was a bloodline that was recessive. After many years, the older son created the Hyuga clan and the younger son created the Kaguya clan. Thus, Otsutsuki Kaguya had five bloodlines originating from her. She was the progenitor of the Uzumaki, Senju, Uchiha, Hyuga and Kaguya clans.

In his own timeline, Naruto knew that both he and Sasuke had obtained power from the sage of six paths. The sage using Banbutsu Sozo no jutsu had altered Naruto's and Sasuke's very DNA to gift them his own power. However, at the time, Hagoromo had sensed the negative intention of Sasuke and had gifted him only a part of his power by withholding most of his spiritual power. Since Sasuke had already strengthened his Sharingan by merging his own with that of his brother, this led to the formation of a mutated version of the Rinne Sharingan that could use the powers of both the Sharingan and the Rinnegan in a limited form unlike the true Rinne Sharingan. Once again, since Sasuke lacked most of the spiritual force, only one of his eyes were transformed. Additionally, since Sasuke was not a sage himself, his sage chakra had mostly dispersed with only a fraction remaining within him due to his Rinnegan.

At the same time, since Hagoromo-jiji had seen the purity of Naruto's heart, had gifted him his own physical and spiritual powers. Thus, through the blessings of the sage of six paths and the Biju, Naruto within him had the power of the Uzumaki, Senju and the seed chakra of all tailed beasts. Since he was a sage, Naruto had subconsciously merged the sage of six path's chakra and the seed chakra from the tailed beast into his own formidable chakra. He knew that this was the reason why in his prime after the fourth war, his chakra was much denser even when compared to behemoths like Hashirama-jiji and Madara-teme, it was even comparable to the tailed beasts themselves. However, all this was moot point since he had to retrain his physical energy to utilize his full powers.

"Boy I sure went on a tangent there!" thought Naruto. He needed to identify the time he was presently in. From what he had known of history, after the initial millennium since Kaguya was sealed, many clans were established, and chakra had spread throughout the elemental nations. Once there was a form of stability in terms of chakra and jutsu among the masses, conflicts started becoming frequent leading to a general sense of unrest among people. Events started coming to a head when the Daimyos of Earth and Wind countries were assassinated by a coalition of their respective power-hungry courts so that a Shogun could be elected. The leader of the coup, a powerful retainer to the ex-Daimyo of Earth, bribed the court of the Wind Daimyo to overthrow their Daimyo. He intended to unify the Earth and Wind nations to strong arm the other nations into submitting to his rule. His ambition was to become the first emperor of the elemental nations. Though his ambitions could potentially unite the elemental nations, his greed led to his downfall.

The warring clans' era truly started about 121 years ago when the self-proclaimed Shogun of the Wind and Earth coalition fought with the then Daimyo of the Fire country. The Fire country Daimyo had retained both the Senju and Uchiha clans to fight against the forces of Earth and Wind. The war was fought by shinobi clans of each respective nation. The initial war was relatively short but immensely brutal. Clans native to both Wind and Earth nations faced severe losses to their numbers due to their fight against the Senju and Uchiha. This led to them revolting against the Shogun and killing him when the Shogun had berated them for their loss and disrespected their dead. However, the Senju and Uchiha did not fair any better. Though they didn't loose as many in numbers, there rose a dislike between the clans due to their differing values and clan policies.

During the conflict between the Shogun and the Fire Daimyo, many of the smaller nations lying in between them suffered as their lands served as the battle ground. Seeking an opportunity to destabilize the fire nation who were the winners of the short war, the Daimyos of the smaller nations between Earth, Wind and Fire bribed one of the senior court officials of the Fire Daimyo. With the help of their mole, the smaller nations marginalized the contribution of the Uchiha clan in the war effort. Thus, when the clans were compensated by the Fire Daimyo for their efforts, the Uchiha clan felt insulted as their efforts were marginalized while the Senju's were extolled and was offered a permanent retainer for their services. This greatly widened the rift that existed between the two clans. Meanwhile, the Daimyo's of the Water and Lightening nations were showing aggression towards the recently weakened Fire nation. Their respective thoughts were to conquer the Fire nation to subsequently gaining a strong foothold on the mainland. Both Wind and Earth were seen as easy pickings as they were currently destabilized.

Naruto was not sure of what happened next in history. Someone had assassinated the Fire Daimyo and mobilized multiple clans to take over the Fire nation. There were no clear indications as to who was allied and who were enemies. Many Daimyos, noble families and even a few shinobi clans themselves conscripted different clans to fight against each other. With this, the building tension and overwhelming fear among the people came to a boiling point. From then on, the warring clans' era had truly started.

This year had marked the 121st year of the ongoing war. Many clans rose and fell. In many battles heroes and demons were born. A few years prior, the family of the Fire Daimyo, through their retainers the Senju had finally brokered an alliance with the Water Daimyo. The essence of the alliance was that the sister clan to the Senju's, the Uzumaki, would in part become retainers to the Daimyo of the water nation. The proposal was accepted by the Water Daimyo as they did not have many strong shinobi clans within their lands, and it was getting progressively more expensive to conscript clans that were not settled in Water nation. The proposal gave the Uzumaki clan the right to the islands between Fire country and Water country. The Uzumaki clan head had asked a part of his clan to move to the islands and make them habitable and self-sufficient. These men and women were to be at the beck and call of the Water Daimyo as retainers.

From what he had read from the dead man's journal, Naruto deduced that the then head of the Uzumaki clan had two sons. As a sign of good faith, the Uzumaki clan head had sent his youngest son as the personal retainer for the eldest son of the Daimyo. Naruto then realized that the man whose journal he was reading was the eldest son of the Water Daimyo. When he looked for more information on the youngest son of the Uzumaki clan head, he found a document that detailed the family tree of the Uzumaki clan that was shared with the Water Daimyo in good faith. With the family tree Naruto then concluded that he was the son of Uzumaki Haruto and Uzumaki Airi. Haruto was the youngest son of the current Uzumaki clan head and by a quirk of fate his son was named Naruto. The child was named Naruto partly in honor of the boy's father and partly in honor of the powerful maelstrom that protects the island belonging to the Uzumaki.

Thus, Naruto Uzumaki came to know his own history in this timeline. His small body now had to rest after all that he had done since waking up. Truth be told his own emotions were all over the place just like Kurama, especially after recovering his Dad's body from the entrance to the portly man's room. Naruto had placed both his parents side by side and knelt in front of their bodies to pay his respects. He may not have known them, but he knew from his heart that he was loved dearly by them. Naruto then moved to a relatively clean and sheltered room and decided to sleep. He could sense that no one were moving towards the little hamlet. Additionally, the entire hamlet was stripped bare by the attacking force. There was nothing here that was worth the time of scavengers.

The only valuable item left in the village was his father's katana. Currently the katana hung on Naruto's back on a makeshift strap he had made. Uzumaki Haruto's katana was a work of art. The katana was a thing of beauty and simplicity. The blade itself was razor sharp and the hamon was a beautiful wave pattern. It was a Shirasaya sharp sword. The sheath and the handle were made from the highest quality wood and was the exact shade of the trademark red hair of the Uzumaki clan. From his interactions with Iron country in his own timeline, though he was not a master, Naruto was quite learned in the art of sword play and swordsmithing. From what he could tell, the blade was made of the highest quality chakra conducting metal and masa satetsu. Naruto decided to keep the katana as a memento to remember his father by. He was initially surprised that the sword was left behind but then deduced that the person to defeat his father must have been a swordsman who respected his father's prowess with the blade even if he was bested and did not want to separate the blade from its wielder. Naruto removed the katana from his back and placed it by his side and went to sleep.

The next day, Naruto woke up early. He tried to clean himself as best as he could. Today he wanted to bury his parent of this life with honor. "I better start digging the graves" thought Naruto. He wanted to move on from this place in search of the main branch of the Uzumaki clan. "For my plan to work I have to get close to Hashirama-jiji. The beast way to do that would be through the main branch of the Uzumaki clan" said Naruto to himself. The bulk of Naruto's knowledge of the past was based on the Senju, Uchiha and Uzumaki clans. He knew that for the first phase of his plans to take off, he needed to be in the Fire country. Naruto dug two graves side by side and placed his parents in them. He then covered the grave and placed a headstone. With a kunai he began writing, "Here lies Uzumaki Haruto and Uzumaki Airi, together in life and together in death. May their souls rest in peace in the pure world".

Naruto then knelt in front of the graves with his dad's katana by his side and thought, "We may not have known each other tou-chan, kaa-chan, and I know that I am not your son, but I hope I have your blessings to call you that. I hope the three of you are united in the pure world. I promise to bring honor to your family and to always cherish you along with my own parents. I promise on your grave that your sacrifices will not be in vain. If there is such a thing as peace, I will find it and I will nurture it so that the next generation may not face what we have faced. Goodbye."

As Naruto finished his small prayer, he felt twelve chakra signatures moving his way. Through his negative emotion sensing he could clearly feel that the prevalent emotion among the group was of intense sadness and an acute sense of loss. Through the feel of their chakra, Naruto recognized that the approaching company was most likely Uzumaki shinobi. He thought, "Well, it looks like I get to start my plan immediately. They saved me the trouble finding them". Naruto continued to kneel in front of the graves with his head bent hoping to not arouse suspicion by showing that he could detect them. Soon he heard the thuds of feet behind him. He slowly rose gripping his katana and turned to face his brethren, like a mighty phoenix rising from the ashes, Naruto left the ashes of his own doomed world to ensure that this one doesn't fall.

**To be continued. **


	4. Chapter 3: The stage is set!

**Disclaimer:**

**I do not own Naruto. Naruto is owned by Masashi Kishimoto and associates. I do not make any money from this fictional series. I am only playing around the sandbox to create a fanfiction. In no shape or form do I claim any right over the characters in this fanfiction other than the characters that were created from my imagination. All praise goes to the respective creators for these series for giving us this wonderful story world to enjoy.**

**AN: Thank you all for the reviews, favourites, follows and views. I appreciate it!**

**Chapter 3: The stage is set!**

**Undisclosed location in Hi no Kuni:**

The 19th head of the Uzumaki clan, Uzumaki Akifumi was a man in his early sixties. His regular attire consisted of a form fitting shinobi shirt and pants that ended just above his wrists and ankles. Due to the threat of an attack at any time, he always preferred to wear his dull grey colored samurai style armor that was modified for shinobi. The armor was modified in such a way to ensure mobility and flexibility. He had a serious face that was devoid of emotions. This did not mean that he was a heartless man. On the contrary, Uzumaki Akifumi was a gentle soul. He would have much preferred to play with his grand kids and to have tea. However, war was not so kind. Uzumaki Akifumi sat in a seiza position in front of his calligraphy desk. He was penning a letter to the Fire Daimyo to petition for increased rations. The Uzumaki clan was a proud clan that could trace their lineage all the way back to the sage of six paths. It pained Akifumi to beg for resources for his clan. Truth be told, his decision to help the Water nation when the Fire Daimyo had requested was so that he too would gain some help when he requested for it.

Currently, the Uzumaki clan was not doing very well. One thing that separated the Uzumaki clan from the others were their large chakra pools and ability to spam ninjutsu and their above average skill in kenjutsu. However, due to the never-ending fights the clan's morale was at an all-time low. It pained Akifumi to accept it, but he knew that his clansmen needed a strong leader to look up to. Though his two sons were strong, they were not so exceptional as to stand out like few of the shinobi from the Senju and Uchiha clans. The Uzumaki clan, now more than ever needed an exceptional shinobi to lead them in battle. One way to ensure this was to have his 7-year-old granddaughter Uzumaki Mito marry Senju Hashirama in the coming years. The boy was only 8 years old now, but his battle prowess was starting to seem legendary. The Uzumaki needed a strong comrade during this turbulent time, even if that comrade must be gotten through a marriage alliance.

Akifumi gave a weary sigh as he finished penning the letter and was waiting for the ink to dry. He just knew that the Daimyo was going to ask for even more troops. How was he expected to win battles if most of his troops were taken from him? He didn't make too much of a fuss with the Senju clan for proposing to move almost half their troops to the new island near the Water nation. This was because Akifumi considered it as a prime location for his clan. But that decision had left him with only a little over 70 people of which only 55 were shinobi. During each skirmish, he now had to go full out to avoid the death of his shinobi. He knew that even with his Uzumaki heritage, going full out in every battle is going to catch up with him soon.

Just as he was rolling up the scroll, he felt one of the two seals on his right wrist burn and fade, soon after the same happened to the remaining seal. "**NO!**" shouted Akifumi and climbed to his feet. He had created five such seals linking his immediate family to him. His left wrist held three seals each corresponding to his first son Uzumaki Haruo, his wife Uzumaki Akina and their daughter Uzumaki Mito. The seals on his right hand corresponded to his younger son Uzumaki Haruto and his wife Uzumaki Airi. He hadn't met their son, little Uzumaki Naruto to create one for him. "Haruo" shouted the clan head. Having heard the previous shout from his father, Haruo had rushed into his father's study. "What happened tou-san?" asked Haruo. "Your brother and his wife have just been killed" replied Akifumi with two fat tears dropping down his cheeks. Haruo was shocked, he adored his little brother, he found it hard to just accept that his brother's family had perished. "Wait, what about little Naruto, tou-san?" asked Haruo. Akifumi replied that he didn't know if the boy had survived.

Without further ado, the father and son put together a team consisting of three chuunin level shinobi for tracking and sensor unit, four jounin shinobi for heavy assault unit, two medic nins and Haruo. "Haruo, you will lead this team for the scouting mission. If you are to find any survivors bring them back to our clan base here in the land of fire" said Akifumi. He then continued, "Take Mito with you. It is likely that the entire hamlet would have been destroyed. Let this be her introduction to the life of a shinobi. Sooner later she needs to be on the field". Haruo replied, "Father, might I request permission to bring another chuunin for safeguarding Mito? If we get into a fight, I want Mito to be safe". Akifumi agreed to Haruo's request and gave them permission to leave immediately.

Uzumaki Mito was going over her scroll on seals from her parent's personal library when her father entered their house and called for her. She ran to greet her father and gave him a hug. "Tou-chan you are back early today! Ne ne, can you teach me seals?" asked Mito cutely. Haruo returned his daughter's hug and messed up her hair. "Tou-chan!" cried Mito. "That never fails to get a reaction out of Mito. How I wish I could keep you this innocent my princess" thought Haruo sadly. "Would you like to come with me on a mission Mito chan?" asked Haruo. Mito's eyes widened. She had been begging her father to take her on a mission. She wanted to help her clansmen, she was not a child anymore, she was 8! "Can I really come on a mission with you tou-chan?" Mito asked just to be sure. Haruo gave a small smile and assured Mito that she was ready to take missions for her clan.

As the father and daughter were talking, Uzumaki Akina walked into the room. When she heard what her husband had asked their only child, she was surprised. Haruo had promised that he would discuss with her when Mito was to be sent on an assignment. Having seen his wife and her expression Haruo said "Mito-chan, get your equipment pouch ready. You remember what I've taught you right? I will check once you are ready". Mito gave an enthusiastic nod and went to pack. When Mito had left the room, Akina asked, "Something has happened hasn't it? You would have told me otherwise". Haruo gave a grim nod and replied, "My brother and your sister are dead". Akina gave a gasp and involuntarily brought her hand to her mouth and her eyes started watering. "How?" Akina asked. "We do not know yet" replied Haruo, "We only just came to know through the seals father had placed on Haruto and Airi. The seals have disappeared".

"What about little Naruto?" asked Akina. "We do not have the means to know. I cannot imagine that Haruto wouldn't have found a way. It is what I would do. But we are not keeping our hopes up because of the war that is currently going on" said Haruo with a heavy heart. "Tou-san thought that this will be a good mission to include little Mito-chan as she has to start somewhere." Akina reluctantly agreed. Though she didn't want Mito-chan to be exposed to the world, they were really pushing it with their babying of Mito. Sooner or later there would be an attack that will include her. It's not just a possibility anymore but a truth that is waiting to happen. She would rather expose Mito-chan to the realities of the world on their own terms rather than when it is forced upon them. It stung her fierce that her baby sister was killed. She sank to her knees crying. She was the last person from her little family of four. Her father had sacrificed his life to save the life of Uzumaki Akifumi many years ago. Her mother did the same for her and her little sister. Now her little sister too has left her. Her prayers were now with little Naruto. Sensing Mito's imminent arrival Haruo gave a squeeze to his wife's hand that was in his hand. Akina collected herself. She needed to be strong for Mito-chan. The world was a scary place, she knew that she was Mito's rock. She herself was a capable jounin and knew that Mito-chan looked up to her.

Little Mito came bounding into the room at that point. She was wearing the clan's pale grey armor that was resized to fit her and the other clan children. It brought a tear in Haruo's eyes. His baby was growing up. Soon she too will be off leading her own missions. Oh, how he wished that this accursed war would come to an end! It was all he knew from the time of his birth. It was likely going to be the last thing he knows too. He, like most of the clansmen just wanted the endless warring to come to an end. The Uzumaki clan may have large chakra reserves but their passion was the study of seals, it was where they truly shined. "Now is not the time to think about it" muttered Haruo which got a knowing look from his wife. Sometimes he wondered how his wife could read him so well. He wouldn't trade his little family for the world. Yet that was exactly what was expected from shinobi like him and his brethren.

Haruo checked little Mito's equipment pouch. It was going to be a day's journey to where his brother was stationed. It was good that his father had moved the clan out of the inland in the fire nation. He gives a nod to his wife and leaves his new makeshift house with Mito in tow. When he reached the designated meeting point, he saw that the other members of the team were ready. He debriefed the team and they set out with Mito making sure that she doesn't hold up the team. Even though Mito tried her best to keep up, it still took the team a little over a day and a half to reach within two miles of the village. They stopped to prepare for a confrontation in case it was necessary while the sensor team was scoping out the hamlet.

After making sure that Mito was holding up well, Haruo approached the sensing team and said "What's the update? How many are we looking at?". The lead chuunin spoke up, "Haruo-taichou, there is only one chakra signature in the entire hamlet. It is around low to mid jounin level" here the chuunin hesitate. Noticing the chuunins hesitance, Haruo asks, "What is it? Even if it's a hunch do share with us. It may even save our lives". The chuunin replied, "I have not come across this before, this person who ever he is, seems to be very strong. The best way we can explain is that this person has a 'thick' chakra. We cannot even adjudge the correct chakra level as we cannot reference what we sensed". "Thick? What does that mean?" thought Haruo. The closest he could relate was the feeling he got when he was up against a particularly powerful shinobi. Those kinds of shinobi were a rarity. They are usually the heads of clans or sometimes even the head of an alliance. Haruo then asked out loud, "Do you mean to say that the person who ever he is, exudes a presence and his chakra feels heavy or dense?". The chuunins talked amongst themselves and gave a curt nod to their leader.

It looked as if this was the person who most likely slaughtered the hamlet or at least an enemy who was waiting for them. This mission had just become more dangerous. Haruo couldn't back out. It wasn't just because the person waiting for them might have a hand in slaughtering his brother's family. He needed to at the least know who was behind the attack. The clan needed to know if the attack was specifically against the Uzumaki clan if so, they needed to know who was moving against the Uzumaki clan. It was more likely that the attacking force was going for the son of the Water Daimyo and as a retainer, Haruto would have tried to defend the young lord. Either way retreat was not an option. Haruo then gave instruction for the guard detail to guard Mito and flee at the first sign of escalation. The guard was to keep at a distance from the main team so that even if they had to flee, they would at least have information on their attacker. He then gave orders to the trackers to bear the Uzumaki flag and lead the heavy assault team to where they sensed the person.

Mito was understandably excited and stressed at the same time. This was it. As they were moving closer, she started feeling the presence her tou-chan was talking about. However, additionally, she felt that the person who ever he was, was feeling only a sense of loss, she was sure that he would not attack. When she conveyed what she felt to her father he just replied, "We shall see Mito-chan". When the team landed in front of what appeared to be hamlet's garden, Mito let out a small gasp. They were looking at a boy who couldn't be no older than 3, kneeling in the seiza position in front of two freshly made graves. It was easy to identify that the boy was an Uzumaki. The large pool of chakra and the red hair were a dead giveaway. However, the greater than normal chakra pressure coming from the little boy was awe inspiring. As they tried to move slowly so as to not startle the boy, he slowly rose as if extending the same courtesy. In his hand was what Haruo recognized as Haruto's katana. The boy had even made a makeshift sling on his back. When the boy stood facing the scouting team, Haruto gave an involuntary gasp. The little boy was a spitting image of his late brother. Everything from the way the boy's hair fell over in bangs to the cheekbones were all his brother. The boy had his mother's eyes. As the boy was looking at them, both Haruo and Mito could feel the boy's undeniable will and determination. They were startled when the boy said "Hello, my name is Uzumaki Naruto. Are you friend or foe?"

Haruo walked forward, he raised his hand and said "We are the scouting team from the Uzumaki clan. We came here based on the intelligence that the village may have been attacked". Though he knew without a doubt looking at the boy, he still asked, "Who are you? Are you one of the survivors?" Naruto knew that the man was telling the truth. He replied, "My father was the personal retainer to the eldest son of the Daimyo of the Water nation. I am the son of Uzumaki Haruto and Uzumaki Airi, the grandson of the Uzumaki clan head Uzumaki Akifumi. There are no survivors in this hamlet aside from me. I have my mother to thank for saving my life", in a firm but sad tone towards the end. All members of the team were accustomed to see and send children to fight wars, however, they have never met a three-year-old hold himself in such a way and have such a noticeable presence.

Uzumaki Mito was flabbergasted, none of her little cousins in their clan spoke like this boy. The boy held himself like her grandpa during one of their clan meetings. She rarely saw children having such presence. In fact, only time she even felt like this was when she met Hashirama-baka. That boy, even though he was an idiot, had an inner strength like this Naruto boy in front of her. Haruo felt both proud and sad that his brother raised such a fine shinobi. "You have not met me Naruto, but I'm you uncle" said Haruo. Naruto was happy that he could meet his uncle this early. Oh, deep down he knew that the person who was in front of him was not his uncle, but this was it. This was what he was waiting for. He will for now and evermore become the Uzumaki Naruto of this era and age. How was he to help the people of this era if her were to dissociate from them? "Are you really? How can I trust you?" asked Naruto. Haruo now faced a difficult question. At this point he did not have any official document to show little Naruto that he was indeed who he was saying to be. Little Naruto seem to be very mature for his age, so he did the only thing he could think of. "Uzumaki Naruto, I truly mean you no harm. I do not have any documents on me at this point of time as you know very well that all field shinobi must not carry any identifying information on them so that an enemy could not ransom a clan if someone important were to be captured".

Naruto of course knew this from his studies into history. However, he also deduced that the same must have been taught to all children in case something were to come up, sort of like the general rules to follow in any generation. "I see" replied Naruto. "Then may I come with you to the clan compound so that I may gain an audience with the current clan head Uzumaki Akifumi? I can easily verify the clan head as I have a painting of his likeness from the effects left over from my father" said Naruto. "Very well, that is acceptable to us" replied Haruo. "I was not finished" replied Naruto. "I wish to accompany you, but I want it to be on my terms. Once we leave the hamlet, you will head back to the clan compound. I will follow at a random distance. I have my own way to track you so do not fret" concluded Naruto. Once again everybody in the garden was astonished at the maturity the three-year-old boy displayed. Naruto continued, "I would appreciate it if you and your team could help me bury the dead. I was able to lay my parents to rest and could do the same for the others, but I wouldn't say no to some help".

This was what the entire team did for the next few hours till evening. Few members of the team carried all the dead along with Naruto and placed them in individual graves dug out by remaining part of the team. Haruo and he men then went through the village looking for any valuable that were left behind. They then sealed what they found in scrolls and came back to where they had left Naruto, Mito and her guard. There they found Naruto and Mito conversing about their education in seals and how the new clan compound was bigger than the previous one.

Naruto was having the time of his life with Mito. This was the first time he was meeting her. He had only heard of her sealing prowess in his past. Since he had retained all his older memories, he found it extremely intriguing that Mito, even at such a young age had so much insight into sealing. Many a time he had to force himself to not correct her or start to discuss about esoteric sealing arrays that used some of the simpler forms of seals as a base. Finally, Naruto had managed to distract Mito from the topic of seals by asking about the clan and what was going on now with the clan. Sometime during their talk, the others came back from collecting everything of value from the hamlet. Soon Naruto showed them a relatively unharmed building so that all of them could rest up before their journey back to the clan. Haruo organized a watch schedule with the team. Naruto also insisted that he too be made a part of the watch schedule as he told Haruo that he wanted to pull his own weight. Soon Mito and Naruto got the earlier watch hours in the night and soon was sent to sleep while the others kept guard.

The next morning after a quick breakfast consisting of freshly caught fish, the team was ready to set out. Naruto walked up to Haruo and said, "My sensing range is currently just within half a mile." Naruto had purposely made sure to give a range that was within the capacity of a capable chuunin. Even then he could sense that the others were impressed with his skill set. It didn't bother Naruto as he wanted to be acknowledged as a prodigy. For his plans to work, he needed the elders of the clan and the clan head himself to listen to him when he made few suggestions in the future. For all of this to happen, he needs to be accepted as a dependable and powerful shinobi by the entire clan, if not, a sizable majority. Making up his mind, he nodded to Haruo to denote that he was ready to start the journey back to the Uzumaki clan compound. All throughout the journey Naruto kept a comfortable half mile distance from the main team. The sensors in the main team could keep track of Naruto. Haruo wanting to test Naruto said, "Let's pick up the pace, we'll see if he can keep up with us". Slowly, the team varied that pace so that only a seasoned chuunin could keep up. Naruto when he picked up that the others were pulling ahead thought, "They are testing me. Either that or they forgot a three-year-old boy was following them". Naruto didn't bother much with the reasoning and decided to keep pace with them. Even though he was only getting used to his reduced mobility, it was not an issue for a veteran shinobi like himself.

The team plus Naruto made camp when the sun set beneath the horizon. Naruto was by no means shy, but to keep up the act of the weary prodigy he had to be a bit standoffish. Soon through thanks to Mito's efforts, he started to mingle with the group and went as far as saying that both he and Haruo faced losses but would strive through it like the Uzumaki they are. The more Haruo interacted with Naruto, the more he felt that he was speaking to an adult. However, Naruto's behavior did not raise any alarms in his mind as he had interacted with children from the Nara clan who were quite the geniuses themselves. "Just what are you Naruto? Your capabilities scream 'chuunin' and so does your mannerisms and yet you haven't lived past the fourth year of your life. Are you a natural prodigy or has the war made you into who you are?" thought Haruo. He decided that he needed to have a long talk with his father regarding Naruto. Both Naruto and Mito insisted that they too be included in the watch patrol like last night and got the first ones.

The next day, the team and Naruto reached the Uzumaki village by midday. Naruto felt excited by the prospect of meeting his clansmen. It was something he couldn't accomplish no matter what he had tried in future. The Uzumaki clan still had consisted of just his family. For some reason, Karin never got onto finding a husband. He noticed an old man at the entrance to the clan compound. Said person was wearing the dull grey armor the Uzumaki clan seemed to prefer. Naruto noticed that the person's vibrant red hair started showing veritable grey streaks. As the team came to a stop at the front gate, Naruto moved closer to cover the self-imposed distance of separation. As he walked, he subtly used his negative intention sensing to scope out the surrounding. What he felt was reassuring. The strength of the Uzumaki life force was like a wall in front of his mind's eye. There were many chakra signatures, however, they felt weary. Naruto realized that the continuous battle for the last many years could not have been easy on the scholarly Uzumaki clan. No matter how much their seals were efficient in a battlefield, the clan by and large preferred to indulge in scholarly debates as of late, as the war efforts were taxing on their psyche. He realized that this might have been one of the reasons why the clan head might have agreed to the retainer clause. It was a good decision. The battle-hardened shinobi would continue the battle while the weary scholars would retreat into anonymity and hence the uprooting of the clan compound.

Naruto walked with a purposeful gait towards the person who he recognized as Uzumaki Akifumi. As Naruto was approaching, Akifumi thought, "He has the gait of a shinobi. His eyes shine with purpose and determination. This is no ordinary three-year-old, he has an inner strength that is seldom seen in one so young". Meanwhile, Uzumaki Akina was also having similar thoughts, "Oh Airi-chan, what did you and Haruto-san go through that has made your child into a shinobi at such a young age?". She had no doubt that little Naruto-chan was strong for his age, but she lamented the fact that his childhood was cut short in such a manner.

Uzumaki Akifumi gestured to the new clan hall to Haruo. Haruo immediately understood his father's actions. Since this was not a sensitive mission and since they had to announce the death of his brother, his father wanted to debrief the team in the hall so that the two tasks may be accomplished simultaneously. Haruo along with his team and Naruto moved to the clan hall so that they may discuss about the mission. Many of the Uzumaki clan members including the elders stood by their clan head when Haruo was making his mission report. Haruo started "Our mission was to scout the small hamlet that was recently attacked. The mission was a priority as this hamlet at the time was hosing Uzumaki Haruto, his wife Uzumaki Airi and their child Uzumaki Naruto" here Haruo gave a nod towards Naruto, indicating that he was the child of their deceased clansmen. Haruo then continued, "The journey took us a day and a half to complete. We reached our destination by mid-day on our second day of travel. While scouting the hamlet, our sensor unit picked up a lone chakra signature that was low to mid jounin level in strength. After appropriate measures were taken, we approached the chakra signature to find Uzumaki Naruto kneeling by the graves of his parents."

When hearing this, most of the clansmen let out a very audible gasp. The reason for the shock was for two reasons. Most of the clansmen gathered were saddened by the passing of their relatives and were saddened more when they realized that it probably was little Naruto who buried his parents. A select few who were sharp enough, realized that the child in front of them held such potential, even among the Uzumaki clan, such quantities of chakra was not seen in one so young. After the slight interruption had passed, Haruo continued, "From what Uzumaki Naruto shared and our own investigations, we concluded that the attack on the hamlet was a premeditated one. The target was the eldest son of the Daimyo of the water nation. Both Uzumaki Haruto and Uzumaki Airi perished fighting the invading force. The twenty men guard of the nobleman also perished in the attack" here Haruo paused to catch his breath. Haruo then continued, "The invading force was likely numbered between 30 to 50 shinobi. Due to the extensive damage sustained by the hamlet, an accurate estimation was not possible. Most of the deceased had sustained wounds that were made by katana. It is likely that the invading force had skilled kenjutsu users among them. Their initial plan was to capture the nobleman as a hostage, however, when the nobleman was about to activate a sealing array that would have taken the life of his attackers, they were forced to end his life. The hamlet was ransacked and stripped bare of everything valuable. The only item of value that was left behind was the katana belonging to Uzumaki Haruto. We then helped Uzumaki Naruto to bury the dead and started our return journey the next day" concluded Haruo.

The two clan elders who doubled as advisors got the attention of Akifumi and gave a discreet hand sign. The Uzumaki clan head gave the elders a nod and asked the reconnaissance team to relax while he, the elders and the clan council convened in their chambers. "It is without a doubt that the child is your grandson, the resemblance is uncanny", said Uzumaki Tadanao, one of the elder. The second, Uzumaki Mitsumi, said, "If what your son said is true, then your grandchild has potential that has not graced the Uzumaki clan in a very long time. We must use it for the benefit of the clan." The Uzumaki councilors continued talking in this vein on making Naruto into a deterrent of sorts for the other clans. After listening to what the elders had to say, Akifumi came to his decision. "We will not turn Naruto into a tool for the benefit of the clan. Have you all forgot what the Uzumaki clan stands for? Have you finally gone senile that you have forgotten the teachings of our ancestor Ashura-sama? You need not look past our distant cousins, the Uchiha clan, to see what that sort of thinking has led to" intoned Akifumi in a stern and angry whisper. The council and especially elders looked a bit taken aback and guilty. Uzumaki Tadanao said "Forgive us Akifumi-dono. We haven't forgotten what Ashura-sama has passed down. All of us are weary. We have carried over the mantle from our fathers. I believe that we have done a better job in keeping our clan safe. Under our guidance the clan has thrived. However, we," here the elder gives Akifumi an appraising glance and continues, "we, the elders, the council and you as the clan head grow weary after each battle. Soon we must handover the reigns to the next generation. It is the duty of the clan head to spearhead the fate of the Uzumaki clan in future". Here Uzumaki Mitsumi continues, "You know as well as I do that the Uzumaki needs a powerful leader to lead our clan into the new era. I can feel the times changing. The Senju and Uchiha clan have started to step up their attacks. Soon the winter that is war that has plagued this land for many years will be broken. By the very laws of nature, change is inevitable. This new Uzumaki child is a breath of fresh air. We need a strong Uzumaki to lead our clan through this change so that our clan may weather the storm that is sure to come. If such a leader must come at the cost of the innocence of a child, then so be it".

Akifumi remained silent after the elder councilman and councilwoman finished their speeches. His anger subsides and replies to the gathered, "The elders have once again proved that they are wise and knowledgeable of the times. What both of you have said is relevant. In order to gain such a leader, I was even willing to wed my granddaughter to the presumed heir of the Senju clan. I too have noticed the changes that started surfacing in the world. I predict that the Senju and Uchiha clan will be in the middle of it. Many of the clans that were retained by the various daimyos of smaller nations have been almost wiped out. The Hatake clan has been almost decimated to the main family. The Inuzuka clan is embroiled in a loosing war even as we speak. The Akimichi and Yamanaka clans have now started feeling the brunt of the war as their clan numbers continue to dwindle. Nara clan has always been lackadaisical and hence had secured a very defensible location for their clan generations prior. It's better not to speak about the Hyuga clan who rule their clan with an iron fist. The Sarutobi clan has lost many capable shinobi and are now selecting their battles with extreme caution. The Aburame clan like us are not primarily interested in war. They have always been more interested in entomology." Akifumi took a moment to collect his thoughts. The council and the elders were giving him their undivided attention. "The Senju Butsuma and Uchiha Tajima have begun to actively hunt for each other's clan members. A few of our Uzumaki brethren have also fallen to the Uchiha clan's hunt for the Senju", intoned Akifumi. "The new generation of the Senju and Uchiha are a cut above the others, even those of our generation. Most notable among them are Senju Hashirama and Uchiha Madara. Our scouts and spies have confirmed that both these future clan heads are soon to be considered shinobi who are peerless in strength. It is frightening to know that these stalwarts are eight and nine-year-old kids" concluded Akifumi with a tired sigh.

Uzumaki Mitsumi asked, "What is your point Akifumi?", to which he replied, "Let's first see how strong Naruto-chan is. If Naruto-chan shows the capacity to rise to the levels of the Senju and Uchiha prodigies, I will personally train him for the sake of our clan. To that effect, I propose we keep an exam of sorts to test his abilities as a shinobi". The other councilors were murmuring the assent, excited about seeing Naruto in action. "If all of us agree, let's not keep everyone waiting. We will share our decisions with the clan and prepare for the assessment of my grandson". They then returned to the clan hall and saw that Naruto had relaxed quite a bit and was interacting with both adults and children alike. Akifumi had a content smile on his face when he saw Naruto was acting his age. There was a certain bubbliness to him that was not present before and it warmed his heart to see how happy Naruto was with his people.

Naruto was having the time of his life with the Uzumaki clansmen. The women were cooing over him when he tried to interact with all the children present. He adored the attention that he was receiving. This was what he yearned for his whole life, acceptance and love. He felt at home with the Uzumaki clan and a peace overcame his mind as he was finally united with his people. In his mind he thanked the Shinigami. As he was about to say something to his cousin Mito, he heard a voice in his mind. "Uzumaki Naruto, there is no need to thank me. I have done what I have promised and have brought you to your clan. It is now up to you to make this future right" said the Shinigami. Naruto was surprised to hear the Shinigami but nevertheless expressed his thanks in his mind when he felt the presence of the Shinigami leave. His determination once again skyrocketed, and he gained a smile on his face.

He then noticed that his grandfather and the council were back. Naruto didn't know what to make of the clan council. So far in his life, councils were the bane of his existence. So far, he couldn't find any negative intentions from them, so he considered that as a positive sign. His grandfather then said, "Uzumaki Naruto, welcome to the Uzumaki clan, your brethren. I am sorry that you had to lose your parents at such a young age. Therefore, I hope that the clan will see and love you as one of their own". Akifumi continued, "Furthermore, I would like to know where you stand in terms of your skills as a shinobi. Hence, tomorrow in front of the clan hall, we will conduct an evaluation spar for you so that the clan teachers can identify your skill level and continue your education". Naruto could sense that his grandfather didn't tell him the entire motivation behind his decision, but he didn't care. He wanted an opportunity to prove his mettle and he has one now. He offered a blinding smile to his grandfather and exhuberantly said, "Sure ji-chan! I'll give the spar my all!" After talking more with his new friends and family, Naruto went to sleep looking forward to tomorrow, the stage was now set, it is time for the first phase of his plan to start!

**Mount Myoboku:**

A great rusty red colored toad was sitting on a comfortable throne in what looked like a great library. The name of this toad was Gamamaru. Gamamaru was the great toad sage of mount Myoboku. The great sage has lived through the last millennia mostly in a meditative trance to catch glimpses of the future. He had predicted the fall of Otsutsuki Kaguya and since has seen countless predictions that have come to pass. Usually, he sits alone in his throne without bothering anyone. However, today was a special day. He could feel it in his bones. Something about today was different. It was as if there was a change coming and the harbinger of this change was ready to start. He immersed himself fully into a trance.

In the trance, he saw a red headed boy with violet eyes. He could see that there was much power in the boy. Next he saw two raven haired children. The vision then shifted, there was a boy with peculiar hair. Half his head was white whereas the other half was black. The visions then changed, the great toad sage then saw the red-haired boy's face. His violet eyes were surrounded by orange coloring of the toad style sage mode. The same boy was trying to contain an almighty blaze that was wrecking a sizable forest. Before the trance broke, the great toad sage had a split vision of two worlds. In one, the red-haired boy was not there to save the children. Soon that world started to burn. In the other vision, the red-haired boy saves the children. That world is filled with a sense of peace. Gamamaru, the great toad sage then wakes up from his trance. He then ponders on the meaning of his visions. He was sure that the harbinger of change was the boy with the red hair and violet eyes. He then speaks, "Gamatora, please call Fukasaku and Shima, I have a new prediction that needs to be shared."

**End of Chapter, see you next time!**


	5. Chapter 4: Naruto proves his mettle!

**Disclaimer:**

**I do not own Naruto. Naruto is owned by Masashi Kishimoto and associates. I do not make any money from this fictional series. I am only playing around the sandbox to create a fanfiction. In no shape or form do I claim any right over the characters in this fanfiction other than the characters that were created from my imagination. All praise goes to the respective creators for these series for giving us this wonderful story world to enjoy.**

**Chapter 4:**

Naruto woke up bright and early the next day. He was very excited to be with his new family. Last night Haruo-kun and Akina-chan had said that from now on he would be staying with them. When Naruto had told that he didn't want to be an imposition on them, Akina-chan knelt to his level and engulfed him in a warm embrace. She then said, "Naruto-kun, you are all that I have of my sister. You may not be aware, both me and my sister considered the other's child as their own. We had made a promise to each other that if something were to happen to one of us, the other would take care of the child left behind. You and little Mito-chan are the same to me. From today, me and Haruo have not one, but two children, you will never be an imposition to us." Predictably, Naruto was very emotional and hugged his new mom and dad with all his might. He was to temporarily share room with Mito-chan till he got one of his own. With that Naruto and Mito had gone to sleep hugging each other. Now he had woken up with boundless energy to start his day and hopefully gain respect from his brethren when he did well in his assessment.

Naruto thought, "hey Kurama, you awake?". He didn't get a reply, so he was about to go out of his and Mito-chan's room when he heard a yawn in his mind and had the distinct impression that his buddy was stretching his legs. Kurama asked, "what is it kit? Were you able to find any leads on the Uzumaki clan?". Naruto then replied, "did one better Kurama, I am with the Uzumaki clan right now. Shinigami-sama had placed me in the body of the clan head's grandchild". Then Naruto went on to explain what had happened to Kurama. "Hmm, that was convenient for our plans, so what's next?", asked Kurama. Naruto then went on to say about his evaluation exam and about how he was going to move on with his plans.

Kurama hummed and paused for a while and said, "hey Naruto, do you feel the difference in this new seal? This new seal that Shinigami-sama has created is unbelievably complex. I get the feeling that if in a pinch, we can use each other's chakra. I can feel your chakra flowing through me. Your chakra is definitely more potent than what I remember in our own time but it's nowhere near my own level" the gargantuan fox scoffed playfully. "Heh, jealous much Kurama-chan?", teased Naruto. "Shut up stupid flesh bag", shouted Kurama without any heat in a playful banter.

They remained in comfortable silence for a while, Kurama then said, "I don't know how, but I feel that genjutsu would now be ineffective on me since your chakra is potent enough and acts as a second source to disrupt any that are cast on me. Heh, it was always my chakra that was being used by others, it sure feels weird being the recipient of chakra". Naruto gave a mental nod to Kurama. "I too feel the difference in the seal. Earlier, I could use your negative emotion sensing only when we're in our chakra mode, now, I am able to use it at will", said Naruto. Kurama felt liberated, he now didn't have to worry about the likes of Uchiha Madara keeping him under genjutsu. Naruto could feel that Kurama was feeling content through the seal. He then said, "ne Kurama, what are you going to do now?". Kurama replied, "I will be hibernating for a while, after that I need to meditate to figure out what I have been originally doing at this point of time." Naruto gave a mental nod and said, "ok Kurama, I'm going to go, there are lots of things I need to finish today, give me a shout if you need anything, I'll keep the link open."

Naruto then proceeded to get up from his mat and paused to look at Mito-chan. She was still sleeping as the sun had risen only a few minutes prior. Naruto left their shared room and went to the nearby lake to freshen up. When he got back, he noticed that Mito-chan was up and was helping her mother to prepare breakfast. When Uzumaki Akina saw Naruto freshened up and ready for the day she gave him a smile and said, "Come sit Naruto-kun, let's have an early breakfast". She then sat little Mito-chan and served tea. "Naruto-kun, are you anxious about your assessment today?" asked Akina. Naruto gave his now familiar wide smile and said, "Yeah, I'm going to kick ass datebayo!". Akina smiled but chided Naruto for his language. Both Mito and Naruto then went to meet their cousins so that they can introduced Naruto to them.

Soon it was time for the assessment. Naruto went to the clan hall to meet up with Haruo-kun and Akifumi-jiji. Akifumi then told Naruto, "Uzumaki Naruto, today we will be testing you on Ninjutsu, Taijutsu, Genjutsu and Bukijutsu. Based on your performance we can estimate your capabilities. Are you ready?" With a determined look Naruto replied, "Hai Jiji-chan!". When the gathered Uzumaki clanswomen saw the pint-sized kid with a determined face calling their clan head grandfather in such an endearing manner, they all cooed at Naruto.

The first test was to see how good Naruto's taijutsu was. A young looking Uzumaki named Maeda was to be the proctor. Both Naruto and Maeda moved to the area that was allotted for the taijutsu spar. The arena was a small training field that was situated near the clan hall. Maeda then said, "Naruto-san, we will be having a pure taijutsu spar. You are not allowed the use of a weapon. We will strictly be doing a hand-to-hand spar." Naruto nodded his head to show his assent. Maeda then continued, "the goal of this spar is to see how well you are able to hold yourself in a fight. I will be increasing the difficulty level based on your capabilities. Let us begin", with this Maeda got into the standard fighting stance of the flowing fist style that was used by most if not all of the Uzumaki clan members. The flowing fist style concentrates on throwing fast and unpredictable punches in an almost unpredictable sequence. The fighter using the flowing fist moved in graceful steps each of which culminate in a devastating punch. In the whole of the elemental nations only a handful clans like the Uchiha, Hyuga, Senju, Yotsuki, Kaguya and Inuzuka can even compete with the style. Naruto got into his own fighting stance. It was a fighting style that he perfected after the 4th great war. The style was a mix between the goken and his own brawling style. It combined the utter unpredictability of his formless fighting style with the heavy damaging goken. The goken utilized overwhelming force to literally crush opponents. Naruto knew that to make his strikes effective, he needed to augment his current body with loads of chakra.

Uzumaki Akifumi gave the signal for the spar to begin. Naruto would have preferred to use his shadow clones to acclimatise to the fighting style of Maeda and then start his counter. Seeing that the shadow clone jutsu was not yet invented he chose to start off the spar by going on the offensive. Uzumaki Maeda was about 5 foot 11, that made him almost twice that of Naruto's current height. Naruto very well knew that Maeda had a reach advantage over him. To level the playing field so to speak, Naruto flooded his system with chakra and performed high speed shunshin to get into Maeda's guard and landed many devastating body hits thoroughly shocking the veteran shinobi. However, Maeda proved his mettle when he performed a seal less kawarimi as soon as he saw Naruto disappear. Mid strike Naruto knew that his enemy had escaped. He quickly jumped back from the broken log just in time to avoid a strike to the kidneys.

The gathered Uzumaki clan members were shocked, a boy of mere three years was fighting on par with a veteran! The taijutsu battle was heating up. Naruto was like quicksilver. He used his small stature to his advantage. Most of the time Naruto was a blur, dodging and parrying the strikes from Maeda. It was clear that Naruto was well versed in taijutsu. The two combatants were going at it at near jonin level. Maeda was no pushover he had fought in countless skirmishes since he was a kid and lived to tell the tale. Maeda varied his approach and changed his fighting style to mimic that of the interceptor fist used by the Uchiha clan. Naruto who was always butting heads with Sasuke, didn't even bat an eye before his tactics too changed. Akifumi and the elders who were watching made note of the ease with which Naruto was fighting against Maeda even when he changed the tempo of the battle.

Naruto once again used his speed to slip in Maeda's guard to lay waste to the interceptor fist. From battling Sasuke, Obito and Madara, Naruto knew that the weakness of the interceptor fist was to get up close and personal and fight at speeds higher than what the Sharingan can track. Even though Naruto was not in his peak condition he was still able to keep pace with Maeda as Maeda was no Uchiha and lacked the Sharingan to effectively used the interceptor fist. Naruto suddenly crouched down within Maeda's guard and used his chakra enhanced left foot to swipe the feet from under the older shinobi. Maeda not expecting the sudden attack stumbled backwards. Capitalising the moment, Naruto performed a one handed handstand and used all his body weight and strength to perform a double heeled kick to Maeda's stomach. Maeda rolled with the kick and performed a backflip to minimize the damage.

When Maeda straightened up, there was a thin line of blood coming from his mouth. However, there was a very familiar smile on his face. It was a smile all warriors knew. It was a smile that stemmed from the happiness of a worthy spar. Maeda was initially intrigued when he was told that he had to test a potential shinobi. He was dismayed when he came to realise that he was to fight a three-year-old boy. Truth be told he was not expecting much from the kid. It was why he was surprised when he realised that Naruto was about to perform a high speed shunshin to start the spar. He was further surprised when he only barely managed to shunshin away before the kid threw high powered punches. The half-splintered log was more than a testament to the power of the boy's strikes. The ease with which the boy was fighting was unnerving. To see if the boy would falter, he switched the style of fighting to the famous interceptor fist. Even then the kid did not bay an eye and seemed to fend of his attacks with ease. The speed with which the kid slipped past his defence was amazing. In short, the kid was a prodigy when it came to hand to hand combat. It was clear that the kid was taught well. "Well, time to take things up a notch" thought Maeda.

Before Naruto could put up a decent defence, Maeda was no him. Maeda was no longer holding back. His strikes were fast, powerful and precise. Like the name of the style, Maeda's fists were flowing in an unrelenting stream of punches that were inundated with precise and powerful kicks. For a few moments Naruto was completely on the defensive. "I cannot afford to be on the defensive for long as Maeda will soon be able to break through the defence I can put up with my current capabilities" thought Naruto. Naruto then pumped his legs with chakra and leaped back in multiple back flips with great agility. As soon as his feet touched the ground, he threw a smoke bomb and performed a high speed kawarimi with one half of the broken log that was relatively unharmed. Meanwhile Maeda sensed that Naruto was no longer in the smoke. He quickly spun around to catch a fist aimed to his kidneys and threw a powerful punch straight to Naruto's face. Naruto displayed phenomenal reflexes to catch Maeda's fist. What happened next made many of the onlooker's jaw drop. With unbelievable speed Naruto performed a chakra enhanced jump holding onto Maeda's outstretched arm while he landed another double heeled kick to Maeda's chest thereby effectively dislodging his captured fist and disorienting Maeda who did not expect the acrobatic manoeuvre. Naruto quickly got back into his fighting stance and was ready for the return volley.

All too soon Naruto heard his grandfather say that the taijutsu match was concluded. He bowed respectfully towards Maeda who by now had resumed his own fighting stance. Both fighters took a moment to appreciate the spar. Maeda then said, "Squirt, you put up a good fight. Meet me later so that we can work more on your form and come up with a strength building regimen". Naruto gave the man a wide smile and bobbed his head in acquiesce. Uzumaki Akifumi then said, "Next I will personally test young Naruto-kun on Ninjutsu". The crowd surrounding the training ground had increased since the start of the evaluation and now were energised after seeing the fight that Naruto had put up against one of their more talented taijutsu fighters. "Do you wish to take a breather for a few minutes Naruto-kun?", asked Akifumi. Naruto who had boundless energy as usual replied that he wanted to continue.

"For the ninjutsu evaluation, we require you to let us know what all jutsu you have trained in", commanded Akifumi. Naruto decided to show all three of the basic jutsu and decided to show many of his elemental jutsu up to chuunin level in difficulty. Naruto proceeded to show all three of the basic jutsu without hand seals which impressed Akifumi and council members. When Akifumi was about to ask Naruto to start on genjutsu, he noticed that Naruto had started to make hand seals. What came next was a big surprise to everyone who was gathered. Naruto started with his wind affinity and showed Fuuton: Daitoppa, blowing a large blast of wind that was strong enough to move a large boulder a couple of inches. Next, without a pause, Naruto again went over a large sequence of hand seals at high chuunin pace and cried out Fuuton: Furyuu no jutsu. A large dragon of about 20 feet in length was formed of wind. The dragon looked menacing with a red mane and yellow eyes. It had a swirling ball of wind chakra in its mouth. Following Naruto's intention, the dragon attacked the previous boulder and detonated the ball of wind chakra in its mouth thereby blowing a sizable hole in the boulder. Furthermore, the wind that formed the dragon cut long furrows into the boulder showing how potent the jutsu was.

Uzumaki Akifumi was dumbfounded! He couldn't fathom a child of three years performing two C ranked jutsu back to back. When he looked at Naruto, he noticed that the kid didn't even seem winded. This was insane! Even among the Uzumaki clan, small children did not develop this quickly. Akifumi was both shocked and amazed that Naruto was able to pull this off. Meanwhile, the other gathered Uzumaki clan members were having similar thoughts. Many of the younger generation applauded at seeing the large dragon made of wind pulverising the boulder. At the same time, the older generation was thinking about the ramifications of the display. Many of the clansmen had already started calling the boy a prodigy. While all of this was going on, Naruto once again started forming hand seals at a high speed. With a shout of Suiton: Mizurappa Naruto washed away the remaining pieces of the boulder. There was absolute silence among the crowd. They couldn't believe what they had seen. It was one thing seeing a small kid showing high affinity for one element and executing two C rank jutsu back to back. It was another thing seeing the same kid performing another C rank of a different element. For goodness sake the kid pulled water from the air! Naruto then paused his performance after he realised that no one was making any sound. He then said, "Ara, jiji-chan is something wrong?". This broke the silence that was over the spellbound crowd. Many people began shouting different things leading to a bedlam.

Uzumaki Akifumi flared his chakra and shouted, "Shut up all of you!". The crowd calmed down. Akifumi then turned to Naruto and asked, "Naruto-kun, who taught you nature transformation? What all can you do?" With a sheepish smile and hands behind his blood red locks Naruto replied, "Tou-chan and Kaa-chan taught me the basics and I learned the rest from the scrolls. Now and then the people around me would help me train". Technically it was not a lie since that's how he learned it all in the first place, he just didn't tell them when and how long it took for him to learn it all. Naruto then continued, "I can do jutsu from all the elements", here most if not all of those who gathered took in a steadying breath. "I can do multiple E, D and C ranks from all the elements", finished Naruto to the utter astonishment of his clansmen. Acknowledging Akifumi's silent commands, Naruto proceeded to show Raiton: Yaiba no jutsu, Doton: Doryuusou and Katon: Ryuuka no jutsu. The crowd showed their amazement by cheering and applauding Naruto. Uzumaki Akifumi had a proud smile on his face. "We will break for a few minutes before we move onto the other tests.

As soon as Akifumi concluded a sheepish Naruto was swarmed by his cousins and Akina. While Naruto met with his cousins, Uzumaki Akifumi, Tadanao and Mitsumi conferred. Mitsumi was the first to speak, "Akifumi, your grandson is the blessing that the Uzumaki clan was waiting for. Even at such a young age to be able to bend the five elements to his will is nothing but genius of the highest regard." Both Akifumi and Tadanao was listening intently to Mitsumi. "I too believe the same", said Uzumaki Tadanao. "We must train him to polish his skills and ensure that he become a capable shinobi", concluded Tadanao. Akifumi then looked over to Naruto who was blushing at the attention he was receiving. He noticed that even though his clansmen piled complements on him, Naruto seems to take it with a humble heart. It warmed his heart knowing that Naruto will most likely not grow up to be arrogant. He would ensure it. Having pride in one's skill was good but looking down on your own clansmen like the Hyuga and Uchiha was not acceptable. Turning back to the elders Akifumi commented, "I am surprised that Naruto-kun is so capable at such a young age. Shinobi ten times his age could not have achieved what he has. As I previously said, I will personally train and assist Naruto-kun so that he may reach his full potential."

Uzumaki Tadanao then said, "I did not sense any deceit in his words when he spoke about his training. Yet, it is difficult to grasp that the boy had come this far on his own!" Mitsumi replied, "I can understand your shock, I can barely believe it myself. Irrespective of how he has achieved his strengths it lies with us to make sure that he grows into a stellar shinobi. Anything less would be an insult to Kami-sama who has graced us with Naruto-kun." Akifumi then decided to share his current thoughts with his advisors. "I believe we should conduct a mock ambush and melee combat to adjudge how well Naruto-kun could potentially do in the field." Uzumaki Tadanao hummed in appreciation. With an interested look, he said, "I believe that would be very insightful. It would be very educational to see how the boy would respond to such a situation." Uzumaki Mitsumi then said, "Let us elders worry about the ambush, you should carry on with the evaluation." With that the elders disbanded and moved back to the training field where Naruto was now playing ninja with his cousins.

As soon as Uzumaki Akifumi was seen in the clearing, all the children moved out of the training ground. Akifumi then said to Naruto, "Naruto-kun, I will be testing you on your genjutsu prowess. Go ahead and place me in your strongest genjutsu". Now it was not that Naruto was incapable of learning genjutsu, he just did not feel strongly for the skill set. Additionally, Naruto fundamentally was not a person who would prefer to trap someone within their own mind. He much preferred to clobber them! However, it was not to say that he couldn't be persuaded to learn it if it meant that his friends could be saved from a potentially dangerous situation. As a result, Naruto knew very few genjutsu techniques. The few that he knew were geared towards distorting one's perception by small measures so that any potential strikes that were aimed at him or his comrades would miss. The beauty of these types of genjutsu was that almost always the person put under the genjutsu was not aware that they were in one during the heat of the battle.

Naruto obviously knew that his techniques would not fool anyone with a dojutsu like the Sharingan or the Byakugan. It took immense effort from Naruto's part to make sure that the technique took hold as he had to fine tune his chakra control to such an extent that only a trickle of his chakra would enter his opponent's system. Therefore, he only had a very handful of genjutsu techniques at his disposal which he decided to keep to himself as hidden aces. Naruto thus told Akifumi, "Ara, jiji-chan, I can't do any". It took a moment for this to register with the Uzumaki clan head. So far Naruto had shown a stellar performance and as a result he unconsciously had built up expectations in his mind. It however came as a relief to Akifumi that no matter how much Naruto seemed to be developed he was still only human. With a resounding guffaw Akifumi said, "That is quite alright Naruto-kun, we do not expect you to be a master at all fields". This brought smiles onto the faces of the Uzumaki clan members mostly because Naruto seemed to be humble enough to accept his shortcomings.

Akifumi then controlled his mirth and said, "Well let's see if you can break out of any genjutsu attacks against your person". With that Uzumaki Akifumi proceeded to place Naruto under different genjutsu varying from E to C class in strength. All round Naruto was able to dispel any genjutsu placed on him within a few seconds. Akifumi took note that Naruto was especially skilled in detecting and dispelling any genjutsu that were meant to distort perception of his immediate surroundings. With the quick conclusion of Naruto's genjutsu assessment, Akifumi directed his young grandson towards the training dummies and posts that were erected at the far end of the training field.

Naruto was then asked to pick weapons he was familiar with from an assortment of weapons. Naruto chose shuriken, kunai and a bo-staff in addition to his father's katana. In his past life Naruto was studious enough to learn about throwing weapons and accuracy from Tenten after the war. It had always bothered him something fierce when he always was shown up by Sasuke and Itachi when it came to throwing weapons. Even though Naruto was not at their level he still had worked on his accuracy and proficiency till it wasn't too shabby. Naruto proceeded to show the skills he had worked hard for. Once again Naruto showed his mettle when his small limbs were not allowed to hinder his performance. Naruto expertly channelled chakra into his limbs to gain enough strength for his throws. Both his accuracy and ability to masterfully channel chakra impressed the shinobi gathered. Naruto's little show on hitting targets in his blind spots impressed the little ones who now had stars in their eyes. Uzumaki Maeda once again tested Naruto on his skills with the bo-staff. Naruto's skills in the bo-staff were not as appealing as his other skills as he had only taken up on the fighting style just before the start of the 5th war. He even considered to learn the skill only to pay homage to his jiji who was renowned for his monkey style kata and proficiency with a bo staff.

Finally, after Naruto was tested in all his chosen weapons aside from his katana, Uzumaki Haruo walked on to the training field. "I will be testing you on your swordsmanship", said Uzumaki Haruo. Both Naruto and Haruo got into their preferred kenjutsu style. When Naruto got into his stance it was most peculiar. Many of the Uzumaki who were proficient in swordplay noticed that Naruto's stance was heavily based on that of the samurai. What was astonishing was that the samurai despised the shinobi and would never teach a shinobi the art of kenjutsu. At the first glance Haruo was also of similar opinion, but when he scrutinised Naruto's stance further, he noticed that the stance adopted by Naruto distinctly lacks the formal rigidity associated with the samurai style. Naruto could understand the confusion on their faces. His style of Itto ryu was unique. Naruto had incorporated the samurai style fighting with the fast-paced moves that Bee-ossan was famous for.

Without further ado Uzumaki Haruo got into the Uzumaki kenjutsu style of the dancing maelstrom. The dancing maelstrom was also a peculiar form of kenjutsu. The kenjutsu style revolves around circular motion of the fighter's body while parrying and utilising that motion to strike down the opponent. The style was also famous for its defensive fighting style. It was used in conjunction with high level suiton techniques to give an oomph to the style. When Naruto saw that his uncle was ready, he rushed forward in hereto unseen agility. "Hayai!", thought Haruo. With efficiency born from countless battles Haruo deflected Naruto's initial strike. Before he could fully utilise the moment to lay a counter strike Naruto seemed to vanish from view. If it were not for Haruo's superb reflex, he would not have been able to avoid the potentially fatal strike from the side. Haruo could have sworn that his nephew was not there at that side a moment ago. From the reflection on his blade he saw another strike coming from the back. This time instead of parrying Haruo jumped back. What he saw amazed him. Just like how the Uzumaki style uses water jutsu for increasing the attack's potential, Naruto had used a thin film of water almost like a mirror to misdirect his senses. With a smirk Haruo said, "Well done Naruto-kun, but you won't get me a second time".

The crowd was once again fascinated. The formation of the water mirror was flawless and required no hand signs. Many of the kenjutsu practitioners were impressed with what they saw. Many people thought that the boy had potential. Naruto then replied, "Heh, that was just my opening stance. I have much more to show". With a feral smirk Naruto once again went on the offensive. This time when they clashed blades, Haruo was pushed back slightly and his hands were ringing. It was as if he was trying to cut granite. To his amazement, Haruo noticed that Naruto's katana had taken on a dull brown sheen. The boy had used doton chakra to harden his blade exponentially! The boy was sure full of surprises. Akifumi had also noticed that Naruto had used chakra manipulation on his blade. Soon all Haruo could do was be on the defensive. Naruto had coated his katana in lightening chakra. Haruo had to coat his blade with wind type chakra just so that Naruto doesn't slice through him.

After many fast-paced action Naruto came to realise that Haruo's defence was solid. He would have to reveal more of his strengths if he wanted to win the fight. Naruto decided that it was not tactical to do so now. Already his objective of being acknowledged as a prodigy was achieved. Any more drastic show of skill from his side would only have a negative impact. So, with the course decided Naruto slowly started showing his fatigue. Even though he decided to show fatigue, Naruto did not want his clansmen to think him sloppy. Hence, Naruto's strikes became far fewer but well thought out. Naruto had showed slyness in directing the flow of the spar with efficient use of taijutsu and small ninjutsu mixed in with his kenjutsu to corner Haruo. Uzumaki Akifumi, the elders and the others were fascinated by Naruto's actions. They could all see that Naruto was starting to show fatigue. Since everyone was expecting Naruto to show some fatigue after the gruelling evaluation, none were suspicious of Naruto. To them it felt natural that Naruto was fatigued even if he had exceptional chakra reserves. To the elders and the spectators, it was commendable that Naruto did not get sloppy even when he was running on fumes. On the contrary Naruto seemed to get more sharp and deadly as he neared his limits. To them it meant that Naruto was already a shinobi of a high calibre.

By his emotion sensing abilities Naruto confirmed that his actions were well thought out and appropriate. When he saw an opening that Haruo intentionally gave Naruto took the bait. Naruto knew that his failure to see the bait for what it was would not be considered as a negative point against him. It would most likely be chalked up to his inexperience in the field. Just as Naruto had predicted, Haruo was about to finish the spar with a well-executed counter when both detected seven chakra signatures coming at them at a high rate of speed. Both Naruto and Haruo performed chakra enhanced jumps to jump back. The assailants were going after Naruto. The crowd let out a scream. When few of the onlookers tried to assist Naruto, they noticed that Naruto and his assailants were behind a barrier. Uzumaki Haruo was about to assist Naruto when he caught sight of his father asking him to stand down through their discreet hand sign.

Naruto was initially surprised and thought that the clan was under attack. However, when he didn't sense any ill intentions from his attackers he deemed to look towards his grandfather. Naruto had caught the small twitch of Akifumi's fingers which seemed to placate his uncle. All of this had happened in a fraction of a second. Upon a closer inspection Naruto noticed that his attackers were using blunted kunai and swords. This led him to believe that the ambush was also a part of the assessment. How sneaky of his grandfather! Well if they wanted a show, then that was what they were going to get! By this time the assailants had surrounded Naruto. With a devious smirk Naruto emulated Sakura-chan and punched the ground with a chakra enhanced fist. None of the attackers or the frantic clansmen and women expected what came next. With what seemed like monstrous strength Naruto pulverised the ground, breaking it up into chunks of earth. It looked like Naruto had caught his second wind! Naruto then used crippling taijutsu moves from the goken to lay waste to his utterly perplexed attackers. Naruto's blows were not fatal, but they still hurt like hell. Using the surprise advantage Naruto took out three of the attackers before they caught on to what Naruto was doing. The four remaining attackers regrouped.

It was unfortunate that two of the ambush squad were fresh off the battlefield. They were a pair of twins who were renowned for their very fast combination attacks. The twins were unprepared for the ferocity in Naruto's attack and forgot that they were evaluating the kid. For a second they were back in the battlefield. Together they went through multiple fast paced hand signs. It was their signature combination jutsu. One created a water dragon while the other charged the dragon with lightening chakra. The pair were always together on the battlefield and hence had practiced extensively to make their combination attacks very fast, they needed only second to perform their jutsu. Just as they were about to launch their attack the pair came to their senses. The twin controlling the dragon tried to rein it off to the side. However, it was a second too late. The tail end of the dragon was still going to hit Naruto. The other shinobi in the ambush squad were not prepared for one of their own to let loose a powerful jutsu and thus were unable to stop it. "So much for playing it safe", thought Naruto. Naruto deduced that the ferocity in his attacks might have spooked the shinobi who were always fighting during this wretched time period.

Uzumaki Akifumi was aghast. What was supposed to be a test quickly got out of hand. He knew that the attack about to be launched had a high probability of seriously injuring his grandson. Flashes of regret were going through his mind. The onlookers were still screaming. All eyes were on Naruto. With phenomenal speed Naruto went over a couple of hand signs and stamped the ground with his right foot while he crossed his arms in front of his face. All of this happened in the couple of seconds that the dragon took to cover the distance between the twins and Naruto. With an almighty bang, the tail of the electrified dragon smashed the earthen wall that sprang up when Naruto had stomped on the ground. Most of the dragon's energy seemed to go into breaking the wall. But due to the lightening chakra mixed into the water dragon, its tail still smashed into Naruto who was sent flying into the wall of the barrier.

The entire clan had gone silent. The ambush squad rushed towards Naruto hoping against hope that he was still alive. When the dust cleared everyone saw that Naruto still had his arms crossed. Amazingly Naruto's skin was a dull rust coloured. With a shake of his head Naruto let his jutsu drop and knelt on the ground. Aside from a few scratches and light panting Naruto was completely fine. When Naruto saw his attackers approaching, he immediately stood up and assumed a fighting stance.

The ambush squad and all those who were watching were stunned with Naruto's quick thinking and fighting spirit! For Kami's sake the boy had performed a flawless Doton: Doryuu Heki and a lightning fast Doton: Kotetsu no Yoroi, furthermore the boy seemed to be ready for more! Soon, a tumult broke out. "Enough!", yelled Akifumi gaining the attention of the crowd. "The spar has ended. We will convene at the clan hall at noon. For now, I wish to speak with my grandson and treat his injuries. Please disperse.". Uzumaki Akifumi then went to meet Naruto who was still in his fighting stance. The proctors of the assessment, medics and the elders also rushed behind their clan head to meet Naruto.

When the medics cleared Naruto, Akifumi said, "Naruto-kun, you have passed the assessment with flying colours. Your performance was well above my expectations and dare I say the expectations set by many others.". A warmth spread through Naruto that he knew was due to acceptance and pride from the clan head. Naruto, with a curt bow says, "Thank you jiji-chan!". Akifumi looks on with pride at Naruto when he didn't let the praise go to his head. "Now Naruto-kun, I must apologise for the way the ambush testing ended. You could have gotten hurt. What you managed to pull off at the end was nothing but pure genius", said Akifumi. With a deep sigh Akifumi continued, "We should have made sure that no shinobi fresh from the battlefield participated for the evaluation. For that you have our apologies Naruto-kun.". With his usual carefree smile brightening his face Naruto replied, "What is done is done jiji-chan", with a sorrowful look Naruto continued, "I know from experience that sometimes unexpected situations may befall us.". Uzumaki Akifumi, the elders and the other clansmen gathered realised that Naruto was talking about the fate that befell his own family. Just as Akifumi was about to console Naruto, the boy in question looked up with a determined and serious visage and said, "That is why I want to be strong jiji-chan, I want to be able to protect my precious people.". Towards the end of his small speech Naruto looked over to his little cousins who were still milling about near the training field. All those who were gathered realised that Naruto meant the whole clan when he was talking about his precious people. With a warm smile Akifumi thought, 'Haruto-kun, Airi-chan, both of you have brought forth a wonderful child into this world'. With the warm smile still on his face Akifumi said, "well Naruto, I hope that you are ready to undergo intensive training from today onwards. Your trainers and I together shall make sure that you become strong!" Naruto's only reply was an enthusiastic "Osu!".

**Time skip: 2 years later **

It had been roughly two years since Naruto came to stay at the Uzumaki clan compound. Time had flown by. There were many small changes in the Uzumaki clan. The most noticeable was that the clan was a lot more cheerful. This was primarily because of the children. Naruto's evaluation practically made him famous overnight. His strength inspired awe among the children and adults alike. Often Naruto could be seen playing ninja with his many cousins and was even seen tutoring a few of them in shinobi ways.

However, it was Naruto's humbleness that which endeared him to the children and the clan. In two short years Naruto became the heart of the clan. The interaction with children who adored him coupled with the care and concern shown by the adults went a long way in stripping Naruto of the bitterness accumulated in his old life. Additionally, knowing that he would be meeting up with his beloved wife in the future made Naruto one happy man. Slowly during the last two years Naruto became more of himself as he was in his childhood and teenage years. Naruto's positive mindset went a long way in calming Kurama. Both Naruto and Kurama were basking in the love and care of the Uzumaki clan. Soon, the loud and mischievous Naruto from the past was on proud display. Naruto's pranks were harmless and went a long way in uplifting the clan's morale and endearing him in their hearts.

Uzumaki Akifumi saw that the day was a fine morning. He was moving towards his personal training grounds to meet up with his grandchildren. Initially he only planned to train Naruto, however, seeing the determined and cute expression on little Mito he decided to train them both. Both Mito-chan and Naruto-kun were exceptional students in his opinion. Akifumi knew that both children were gifted in different aspects of the shinobi life. Naruto was a beast. There was no other way to characterize him. If it was anything related to fighting, Naruto picked it up at a phenomenal rate. It was not to say that the boy was a knuckle head, no, Naruto had a good head on his shoulder.

Show of intelligence and mental aptitude were where Mito shone. Mito was truly gifted in the mind. Her aptitude for strategic thinking and seals were nothing short of genius. Both Mito and Naruto knew that their talents lay in different fields. Hence, both children acknowledged the other and supported each other instead of being jealous or arrogant. Akifumi was delighted with the mature attitude from the children and appreciated them for it. Since the last few months he was slowly changing Mito-chan's training schedule. Nowadays even though she met up with him and Naruto to train in ninjutsu, taijutsu and bukijutsu in a limited capacity, her advanced training in seals and strategic planning was taken over by Akina-chan. For the past several months Naruto-kun was his primary student. Training Naruto-kun was one of the most gratifying experience Akifumi had in his long life. The brat had an indominable will and a thirst to be the best he can be. Sometimes during training Naruto-kun would be beaten bloody by him, Maeda-san, the twins or Haruo-kun but Naruto-kun would be back on his feet at the next moment. At times the boy's pain threshold would surprise his trainers. Even through the hellish training that they put Naruto through, the boy did not complain once. If his skills were found lacking in some way, the boy would work at it till he became proficient.

When Akifumi reached the training ground he saw Naruto-kun and Mito-chan discussing seals. Even though Mito-chan was the genius when it came to seals, Naruto-kun could very well hold his own in one of their discussions. "It seems that Naruto-kun is hiding his proficiency in the sealing arts. I wonder why?", thought Akifumi. But he decided that it was not a cause for concern as every shinobi had some secrets when it came to their skills. "Today is an important day for Naruto-kun", though Akifumi, "he will be assigned his first mission today".

Naruto was amazed. That word summed up his situation perfectly. Ever since the day Naruto joined the clan he was cared for and loved. To him the Uzumaki was just a name. In his past the only Uzumaki he truly came to know was Karin-chan. Ever since he had met his mom in his seal, he wanted to know all about her. For him to understand his mother he needed to know about his clan. He was so happy when he was offered a chance by Shinigami-sama to get to know the Uzumaki clan.

He was cared for and loved by everybody. That was a novel experience for Naruto. Even when he had defeated Nagato or won the 4th shinobi war there were always people who hated him for who he was. He had fully accepted that he and Kurama were a package deal. He was not happy when he came to know that many people who admired him despised Kurama. He once had to confront Sakura-chan about it. He still remembered the day. It was after everyone had come back to the village after the 4th war. When he was being fitted with a prosthetic hand Sakura-chan had spoken about his lonely childhood. The conversation quickly became heated when he had shouted at Sakura-chan for blaming everything on Kurama. It was the first time he was truly angry. Kurama was no saint but he had come to know about Kurama's suffering and he understood it. If anyone had a right to be angry with Kurama it was him. It was not easy, but just as he had forgiven Nagato he had forgiven Kurama. That day he had given an ultimatum to Sakura-chan. If she could not get past the hatred towards the Kyubi, then it was better that she starts to hate him too. Because no matter what he and Kurama were a package deal.

It took a while for Sakura-chan to give him a response, she had relented. She apologised for her bias towards the Kyubi when it was a part of Naruto. She had accepted that such was the fate of a jinchuriki. Kurama himself was silent for a long while. It was a many months later when Kurama pulled him into the seal and apologised to him for the loss of his parents and his childhood. Naruto remembered giving his trademark smile to Kurama and saying that all was forgiven. It was after that day that they decided to open the seal fully. Since then both Kurama and Naruto had considered each other as a brother/best friend. Naruto chuckled. This was the reason why he was feeling refreshed when the whole clan started to care for him without reservation. He knew that his clansmen didn't know about Kurama yet, but he was not planning to keep Kurama like a dirty secret. Both he and Kurama had already decided that when the time was right, they would once again seal Kurama within himself and let his clan know. It was not safe for Kurama to be outside the seal until the threat of the Otsutsuki passes. Kurama can't be sealed currently because they had to let few key events in history repeat itself. One thing Naruto knew was the Uzumaki were reasonable people. It might be due to the war or due to their small numbers, the Uzumaki clan surprising had no deceit. He was sure that in time the clan would support his views.

In the past two years Naruto had been trained into the ground. He was happy to have such a dedicated sensei in Uzumaki Akifumi. Many times, the clan head had brought in different people to train Naruto. Uzumaki Maeda was his taijutsu instructor. In some ways he was like bushy-brow sensei. The man had a deep love for taijutsu and was helping Naruto after his little show during his evaluation. His uncle oversaw his kenjutsu training. The twins taught him many types battle strategy the were currently popular and Akina-chan taught him more about seals. Even though he knew much about seals, a formal education in them from the foundations were refreshing.

Today was a special day as Naruto was waiting for it since a long time. Today would mark the start of his career as an Uzu-nin. He did not know what type of mission awaited him but was eager to start his plans. Soon he will be able to change the course of history so that the future need not be so bleak.

**End of Chapter. **


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